John Entwistle: the best rock bassist of his generation?
Ginger Baker, the virtuosic percussionist famed for his work with Cream, deemed himself a jazz drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll setting. One could certainly draw more parallels between his style and that of Buddy Rich than, say, Ringo Starr. Similarly, John Entwistle, the founding bassist of The Who, relied on influences far beyond the realms of rock and valued the instrumental dexterity associated with jazz.
Born in 1944 to a musical family, Entwistle first played the piano under his mother’s mentorship before welcoming his father’s speciality, the trumpet, into his arsenal. His enthusiasm and seemingly innate proficiency in brass instruments led him to enter orchestras at school, initially as a trumpeter but later also using the French horn.
When he joined Acton County Grammar School, Entwistle met Pete Townshend, with whom he formed his first band, The Confederates. A far cry from the destructive rockers they would become in just a few short years, Entwistle impressed Townshend with his brass virtuosity and comprehensive knowledge of jazz, and in return, Townshend showed his command of five strings on the banjo.
All the while, both musicians expanded their string-based skills, Townshend eventually embracing the six-string and Entwistle taking an interest in the bass guitar. These instrumental transitions were influenced primarily by the explosion of rock ‘n’ roll in the US throughout the 1950s. Like members of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the pair foresaw the revolutionary potential of this new musical approach.
After meeting vocalist Roger Daltrey and, later, drummer Keith Moon, Townshend and Entwistle formed the first stable lineup of The Who. This four-piece sought to join the British invasion wave in ravaging the US and UK charts with accessible singes and made an impressive start with UK top tens ‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘My Generation’. Even at this nascent juncture, Entwistle displayed his eye for melodic basslines and an aversion to simplistic bass-note pedalling.
Throughout the late 1960s, Entwistle continued to develop his bass skills. His bandmates famously nicknamed him ‘The Ox’ due to his dense physique and astonishing ability to eat and drink more than anyone else. To his fans, however, he was often known as ‘Thunderfingers’ due to his unprecedented ability to scale the fretboard with cool composure and lightning pace.
Though Townshend wrote most of The Who’s material, taking a shine to running concepts in his famous rock operas, Entwistle contributed several enduring tracks. Among his most memorable contributions was ‘Boris the Spider’, a bizarre cut from the 1966 album A Quick One. Due to its punchy, melodic bassline and Entwistle’s unhinged vocal delivery, the song is often regarded as the very first song in the heavy metal genre.
‘Boris the Spider’ was an undeniable milestone in the evolution of rock music, if only for its innovative bass work. Three years later, Entwistle offered Tommy a sturdy rhythmic structure with inspired flourishes that contributed to the album’s appeal among contemporary prog-rock proponents. 1971’s Who’s Next only served to solidify The Who’s status as one of the UK’s most accomplished and influential rock bands.
Entwistle’s approach to the bass was highly innovative in its time. He was among the first rock bassists to treat the instrument like a lead guitar, feeling his way through complex solos and basslines using round-wound strings and heavy amplification to achieve his distinctive sound. His dynamic work in songs like ‘The Real Me’ left a high bar in the studio, but he saved his protracted thunderbolt solos for the live stage, as seen below.
Thanks to his background in jazz, defying rock ‘n’ roll conventions came very easily to Entwistle. His superhuman – or Ox-like – finger strength and rapid mobility allowed him to do things on four strings and 24 frets that most of his contemporaries could only dream of achieving. Alone, this talent puts Entwistle up with the greatest rock bassists of all time, but considering the fact that he was the original innovator who unlocked the bass for thousands of subsequent stars, few will argue against his claim to the throne.
When Entwistle died in 2002, the music industry mourned one of its most skilful and imaginative instrumentalists. Following The Who’s most impactful decade between 1964 and 1974, scores of famous bassists have cited Entwistle as a pivotal influence and the cause of great envy. Among the bassist’s disciples are Geezer Butler, Krist Novoselic, Geddy Lee, Brian Gibson, Billy Sheehan and Victor Wooten.
Geddy Lee is often ranked close behind Entwistle with a similar grasp of complex melody and pinpoint accuracy at pace. Lee is vastly indebted to the Ox for his success as the bassist of Rush. Speaking to Music Radar in 2022, Lee described Entwistle as the “bass player’s bass player” and his longtime hero. “Ever since I first heard ‘My Generation’ right through to ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ or ‘The Real Me’… he was quite possibly the greatest rock bassist of all time,” he praised. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that.”
