John Entwistle
John Entwistle | |
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Entwistle at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada, 1976 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Alec Entwistle |
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| Born | 9 October 1944 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Died | 27 June 2002 (aged 57) Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
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| Discography | |
| Years active | 1961–2002 |
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John Alec Entwistle (9 October 1944 – 27 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member with formal musical training and also provided backing and occasional lead vocals. Entwistle was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who in 1990.
Renowned for his musical abilities, Entwistle is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rock bass guitarists of all time. His instrumental approach featured pentatonic lead lines and a then-unusual treble-rich sound ("full treble, full volume"). He was voted as the greatest bass guitar player ever in a 2011 Rolling Stone readers' poll and, in 2020, the same magazine ranked him number three in its list of the "50 Greatest Bassists of All Time".