John Entwistle
Updated: 6 days ago
On October 9, 1944, John Entwistle, the legendary bassist of "The Who", was born.
(Photo: www.thewho.com)
Entwistle was one of rock's most influential bassists. His powerful, distinctive playing made the bass a lead instrument and earned him the nickname "Thunderfingers".
So let's tell you 21 important facts about John Entwistle:
1. He was born on October 9, 1944, in a western suburb of London named John Alec Entwistle.
2. His musical career began when he was 7 years old, then began to learn to play the piano.
3. At the age of 11, John moved to play the trumpet and from there to French horn.
4. His playing skills led him to become part of the school orchestra.
5. He met Pete Townshend in his sophomore year and the two formed their first jazz ensemble "the Confederates".
6. After one show together their band switched from jazz to rock and roll.
7. At one point John decided to switch to playing the guitar, but because he had thick and big fingers he finally chose a bass guitar.
8. He built his first guitar on his own at home.
9. In 1961, Roger Daltrey invited Entwistle to join his band, "The Detours". Daltrey had attended the same school and was born earlier in 1944.
10. About six months later, Entwistle persuaded Daltrey to bring Pete Townshend into "The Detours". Townshend joined in 1962, and Daltrey eventually moved from guitar to lead vocals.
11. In 1964, "The Detours" became "The Who". Keith Moon joined as drummer later that year.
12. From 1965 to 1982, Entwistle recorded ten studio albums with "The Who".
13. In 1971, he became the first member of "The Who" to release a solo album, "Smash Your Head Against the Wall". His six solo studio albums later formed the basis of "The Ox Box Set".
14. Over the years, Entwistle has managed to have another nickname - "The Ox". The nickname "The Bull", came to John because of his tremendous eating abilities as well as the way he performed on stage in a frozen position.
15. Alongside co-writing the instrumental "The Ox", John wrote distinctive songs including "Boris the Spider", "My Wife", "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About".
(Photo: www.thewho.com)
16. He developed a very unique playing on the bass and took full advantage of the potential inherent in the instrument as he turned it into a leading instrument.
17. He called his unique playing technique on the bass the "typewriter." The technique places the right hand over the strings so that all four fingers can tap the strings rhythmically. This way of playing allowed him to play faster and more dominantly.
18. He was among the first to use "double amplification", with the high and low tones being sent in separate signals to different amplifiers. This caused a load of amplification and much equipment and speakers designed for him on stage, in what became known as "Little Manhattan."
19. Entwistle was among the first to make use of steel bass strings, which were developed especially for him.
20. John Entwistle died on June 27, 2002, at the "Hard Rock Hotel" in Las Vegas, on the eve of "The Who"'s US tour. The inquest attributed his death to a cocaine-induced heart attack.
21. On May 10, 2024, "The Ox Box Set" collected his six solo studio albums across six CDs, with 29 bonus tracks and a 28-page booklet.
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