He was nicknamed "The Ox" because of his amazing consitution (e.g. drinking). Bill Wyman described him as "the quietest man in private but the loudest man on stage." He was also known as "Thunderfingers" by his bandmates and fans.
John Entwistle was a talented songwriter and artist. He wrote several well-known Who songs including:
"Cousin Kevin"
"My Wife"
"Boris The Spider"
"Heaven and Hell"
"Success Story"
"Whiskey Man"
"905"
These songs, along with his solo material, reveal a dark sense of humor which was often incompatible with Pete Townshend's more introspective work. Though he continued to contribute material to all of The Who's albums, his frustration with having his material recorded by the band (largely with having to relenquish singing duties to Roger Daltrey) led him to release Smash Your Head Against The Wall in 1971. He was the first member of The Who to release a solo record.
Entwistle also contributed many backing vocals and horn performances to the group, most notably on Quadrophenia, where he layered several horns to create the impressive brass as heard on songs such as 5:15, among others.
Rarely captured well in the studio, his style and sound was fully developed by the time of The Who's performance of "A Quick One While He's Away" for the Rolling Stones' 1968 Rock and Roll Circus, as well as the seminal 1970 Live at Leeds concert recording. In concert, Entwistle and guitarist Pete Townshend frequently exchanged roles, with Entwistle providing rapid melodic lines and Townshend anchoring the song with rhythmic chord work. Indeed, Pete Townshend was often quoted that it was Entwistle who was the lead guitarist in the band, while he, being the rhythmic timekeeping element, was in effect the drummer. Moon, on the other hand, with all his flourishes round the kit, was considered by Townshend to be the equivalent of a keyboard player. Entwistle himself stated in many interviews (including one with Guitar Player's Chris Jisi in 1989) that, according to modern standards, "The Who haven't a proper bass player."
Entwistle helped uncover the potential of the bass guitar as a lead instrument, using aggressive pentatonic lead lines, and a trebly sound virtually unheard of in the early 1960s. He pioneered the use of roundwound steel bass strings, developed for him by the Rotosound company. Indeed, his search for a sound to cut through The Who's sonic onslaught led him to experiment with more and different basses, leading him to amass a collection of over 200 instruments by the time of his death. His search for the perfect sound led him to experiment most notably with Alembic's basses in the 1970s, Warwick in the 1980s, and Status all-graphite basses in the 1990s.
In the mid '60s, Entwistle was one of the first to make use of Marshall stacks. Pete Townshend later remarked that John started using Marshalls in order to hear himself over Moon's drums, and Townshend himself also had to use them just to be heard over John. They both continued expanding and experimenting with their rigs, until (at a time when most bands used 50-100w amps with single cabinets) they were both using twin Stacks with new experimental prototype 200w amps. This, in turn, also had a strong influence on the band's contemporaries at the time, with Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience both following suit. Ironically, although they pioneered and directly contributed to the development of the "classic" Marshall sound (at this point their equipment was being built/tweaked to their personal specifications), they would only use Marshalls for a couple of years. Entwistle eventually switched to using a Sound City rig in search of his perfect sound, with Townshend also switching later on.
Entwistle also experimented throughout his career with "bi-amping," where the high and low ends of the bass sound are sent through separate signal paths, allowing for more control over the output. At one point his rig became so loaded with speaker cabinets and processing gear that it was dubbed "Little Manhattan."
His "full treble, full volume" approach to bass sound was originally supposed to be captured in the bass solo to "My Generation". According to Entwistle, his original intention was to feature the distinctive Danelectro bass, which had a very twangy sound, in the solo. After repeatedly breaking strings on the instrument. And even purchasing two more Danelectros in an attempt to capture the sound (Danelectro strings apparently being unavailable separately at the time). He ended up recording a simpler solo using a stock Fender Jazz Bass and a pick. This solo bass break is important as it is one of the first (if not the first) bass solo captured on a rock record. A live recording of The Who from this period (c1965) exists with Entwistle playing a Danelectro on "My Generation," giving an idea of what that solo would have sounded like.
Entwistle developed what he called a "typewriter" approach to playing the bass. It involved positioning the right hand over the strings so all four fingers could be used to tap percussively on the strings, causing them to strike the fretboard with a distinctive twangy sound. This gives the player the aility to play three or four strings at once. Or to use several fingers on a single string. It allowed him to create passages that were very percussive and melodic. He used this approach to mimic the fills used by his drummers in band situations, sometimes sending the fills back at the drummers faster than the drummers themselves could play them. This method is unique and should not be confused with the hammer-on tapping techniques of Eddie Van Halen and Stu Hamm or the slapping technique of Larry Graham, and in fact pre-dates these other techniques. A demonstration of this approach to bass playing can be seen on a video called John Entwistle - Master Class, part of Arlen Roth's Hot Licks instructional series.
Entwistle identified his influences as a combination of his school training on French horn, trumpet, and piano (giving his fingers impressive strength and dexterity). Along with rock & roll guitarists Duane Eddy and Gene Vincent, and American soul and R&B bassists such as James Jamerson. Like Jamerson, he is credited as a pioneer on the bass guitar.
In turn, Entwistle has been a massive influence on the playing styles and sounds used by generations of bass players that have followed him and continues to top 'best ever bass player' polls in musicians magazines. In 2000, Guitar magazine named him "Bassist of the Millennium" in a readers' poll.
Late career
Toward the end of his career, he formed "The John Entwistle Band" with longtime friend, drummer Steve Luongo. Godfrey Townsend ("no 'h', no relation" to Pete) played guitar and sang lead vocals. In 1996, the band went on the "Left for Dead" tour with Alan St. Jon on keyboards. After Entwistle toured with The Who for Quadrophenia in 1996-97, the Entwistle band set off on the "Left for Dead - the Sequel" tour in late 1998 now with Gordon Cotten on keyboards. After this second venture, the band released an album of highlights from the tour, called Left for Live.
In 1999 and 2000 John played as part of The Who.
In 2001 he played in Alan Parson's Beatles tribute show "A Walk Down Abbey Road". Along with John and Mr. Parsons the show featured Ann Wilson of Heart, Todd Rundgren, David Pack of Ambrosia, Godfrey Townsend on guitar, Steve Luongo on drums, and John Beck on keyboards.
In January-February 2002 John played his last concerts in The Who in a handful of dates in England, the last being February 8 in London's Royal Albert Hall.
In late 2002, an expanded 2-CD Left for Live Deluxe was released, further highlighting The John Entwistle Band performances.
Death
John Entwistle died in Las Vegas on June 27, 2002 one day before the scheduled first show of The Who's 2002 US tour.
The Las Vegas medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine. Though the amount in his bloodstream was not great, the drug caused his coronary arteries — already damaged by a pre-existing heart condition — to contract, which led to the fatal heart attack. Entwistle, like Townshend, battled cocaine addiction through much of his adult life.
John's funeral was held at Saint Edward's Church in Stow-On-The-Wold, Gloucester, England, on July 10. He was cremated and his ashes buried privately. A memorial service was held the following October 24 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London.
Entwistle's massive collection of guitars and basses was auctioned at Sotheby's in London by his son Christopher Entwistle to meet anticipated duties on his father's estate. Of the auction, Christopher was quoted as saying his father would have hated it. Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook is amongst those who acquired some of Entwistle's basses at the auction.
Entwistle's enormous mansion in Stow-On-The-Wold in the Cotswolds and a large number of his very personal effects were also later sold off to meet the demands of the Inland Revenue. Ironically, Entwistle was a former employee of that department, only quitting his job there when The Who became successful.
Welsh-born bassist Pino Palladino, who played on several of Pete Townshend's solo records, replaced Entwistle on stage when The Who resumed their postponed U.S. tour following John's funeral. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey spoke at length about their reaction to John's death. Their comments can be found on the "The Who Live in Boston" DVD. They explained that John's death, while very sad, gives the music a new lease on life. A new bass player means a whole new approach to some of those parts. Townshend and Daltrey also said that they accept the fact that they are now members of a cover band who play songs of The Who - the only real difference is that they don't have to pay royalties.
Solo discography
Smash Your Head Against the Wall (1971)
Whistle Rymes (1972)
Rigor Mortis Sets In (1973)
Mad Dog(1975)
Too Late The Hero{1981)
The Rock{1996)
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents In Concert (1996)
Left For Live (1999)
So Who's the Bass Player? The Ox Anthology (2005)
Big Black Cadillac
John Entwistle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Track Music, Inc.
I was walking down the sidewalk
With my coat strung over my back
When a car pulled up beside me
A big black Cadillac
A man said, son have you seen a man with a gun
Looks a little like me, a real mean one
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
He said, son if you're lying
You'll never leave this town alive
Gonna fit you concrete overshoes
And you're gonna take a dive
(Drum solo)
The car pulled away and I ran off
So afraid I wanted to cry
When a man jumped out of the doorway
He had a scar across his eye
He said, son have you seen a big black Cadillac
With a man in the front looks a bit like me
And two more in the back
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
He said, son if you're lying
You'll never leave this town
Wherever you run, I'll find you
And then I'll gun you down
(Bass Solo)
He ran one way and I ran the other
Nearly bit clean through my lip
When I bumped into a policeman
With a six-gun on his hip
He said, son have you seen a big black Cadillac
With one man in the front and two more in the back
Or a man with a scar
I said, I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, stop I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, stop I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, stop I ain't seen nothing
I don't want to get involved
John Entwistle's song "Big Black Cadillac" is a story told from the perspective of a man who gets confronted by two different men who ask if he has seen a man with a gun, who has a scar across his eye and looks like them. The first man approaches him from a big black Cadillac and threatens him, warning him that if he's lying, he'll be killed. The second man appears later, and the singer bumps into a policeman who asks him the same question. The singer denies having seen anything and does not want to get involved.
The song's narrative revolves around fear, danger, and mistrust. The singer is caught in the middle of two men, possibly criminals, with contradicting stories, and he is left to face the consequences of either telling the truth or lying. The fear of being killed or getting involved is evident throughout the song, and the singer's decision to deny any knowledge of the situation could be seen as an attempt to protect himself.
The lyrics' ambiguity leaves the story open to interpretation, and it's up to the listener to decide what happens to the singer in the end. The song demonstrates Entwistle's ability to tell a compelling story through his lyrics, which are enhanced by his unique style of bass playing.
Line by Line Meaning
I was walking down the sidewalk
With my coat strung over my back
When a car pulled up beside me
A big black Cadillac
I was minding my own business, when a car pulled up beside me with a man inside and I could tell it was a big black Cadillac
A man said, son have you seen a man with a gun
He's got a scar across his eye
Looks a little like me, a real mean one
A man inside the car asked if I had seen someone who looks a little like him with a gun and a scar on his eye.
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I told the man inside the car that I hadn't seen anything at all, twice.
He said, son if you're lying
You'll never leave this town alive
Gonna fit you concrete overshoes
And you're gonna take a dive
The man inside the car threatened me that if I'm lying, I won't be able to leave the town alive and he would kill me.
(Drum solo)
Drum solo
The car pulled away and I ran off
So afraid I wanted to cry
When a man jumped out of the doorway
He had a scar across his eye
The car drove away and I ran off, scared and wanting to cry when a man with a scar popped up in front of me out of nowhere.
He said, son have you seen a big black Cadillac
With a man in the front looks a bit like me
And two more in the back
The man asked if I had seen a big black Cadillac with a driver who looked like him and two more men in the backseat.
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, sir I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I again told the man that I hadn't seen anything at all, twice.
He said, son if you're lying
You'll never leave this town
Wherever you run, I'll find you
And then I'll gun you down
The man threatened me that if I'm lying, he would find and shoot me down and I won't be able to leave the town.
(Bass Solo)
Bass solo
He ran one way and I ran the other
Nearly bit clean through my lip
When I bumped into a policeman
With a six-gun on his hip
The man went one way, and I ran the other, almost biting through my lip when I ran into a police officer with a six-gun on his hip.
He said, son have you seen a big black Cadillac
With one man in the front and two more in the back
Or a man with a scar
The police officer asked if I had seen a big black Cadillac with a man in the driver's seat and two more in back or a man with a scar.
I said, I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, stop I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, stop I ain't seen nothing
I ain't seen nothing at all
I said, stop I ain't seen nothing
I don't want to get involved
I told the police officer multiple times that I hadn't seen anything at all and I don't want to get involved.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Angie Buzzacco
John is singing this. You can totaly tell if you are a real Entwistle fan haha
dubhuggi
iv never heard this song b4 and its amazing rip john
gage992112
Why is this song NOT on every classic rock station????
Danny Biesheuvel
@1960unclemort i'm pretty sure this is John singing. great track
Ian Smith
Yeah that raspy 80's entwistle voice. John Voice used to be really nice and deep and smooth but smoking really changed it. not in a bad way. but extensive