June 27 – Who Built On The Ox’s Rumbling

Some considered him the “Jimi Hendrix of the bass”, and like Jimi, the Who’s John Entwistle passed away prematurely. He died on this day in 2002 at age 57 in Las Vegas from a cocaine-induced heart attack while the band was preparing for an American tour.

He was the only one of the group to have formal musical training, studying piano and learning horns and trumpets as well when young. But it was on the bass that he made his mark; “The Ox” , as they called him, was more than just loud… although that he was! As Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones put it, Entwistle was “the quietest man in private and the loudest on stage.” He used 200W Marshall amps on stage when many bands used no more than 50W, resulting in the band being called the loudest band in concert by Guinness Book of Records – and in hearing loss for him and Pete Townshend later on.

Offstage though, he was known for being low-key and avoiding the famous raging battles between his bandmates Townshend and Roger Daltrey. As also departed drummer Keith Moon once said about the band, “we have absolutely nothing in common apart from the music.” Nonetheless, Entwistle had prowess on the 4-string that made him as essential to the band as any of his better-known mates. while his role in the Who was largely limited to playing that bass and occasionally adding backing vocals (besides getting a writing credit on the instrumental named for his nickname), he also put out six solo albums, four of them in the 1970s, such as 1975’s Mad Dog, where he got to show off his wider range of skills including singing, songwriting and synthesizers.

After he died, The Who continued on but never officially replaced him on bass (Pino Palladino took his spot on the tour and on their new albums since, Endless Wire and 2019’s surprise return simply called Who.) His expertise on the 4-string has been rewarded with more accolades than you could shake a Keith Moon drumstick at. Bass Player rank him as the seventh greatest one of those ever, noting he influenced the likes of Geddy Lee and Chris Squire and has innovated with “trailblazing …use of treble frequencies” as well as “technical innovation… such as bi-amping, splitting his signal between overdriven high-end and clean low end.” The LA Weekly ranked him the third best bassist ever in 2015, and Rolling Stone to one-up that. They list him as the greatest bassist ever, crediting him and how he “played it like a lead” instrument…that often overshadowed Pete Townshend’s guitar.”