John Entwistle Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Early Years And Education

John  Entwistle was born 9th October 1944, to Herbert and Maud Entwistle. Entwistle was an only child and was born in Chiswick, London, England. Both his parents were musicians, with his father playing the trumpet, and his mother, the piano. His parents separated soon after he was born.

John  Entwistle started piano lessons when he was seven years old. When  Entwistle started grammar school he changed to the trumpet. When Entwistle joined Middlesex School’s Symphony, Entwistle changed to the French horn.

In his second year of school he met Pete Townshend, and they started a jazz band called the Confederates. They decided to switch to rock and roll, and  Entwistle changed to guitar.  Entwistle found the guitar quite difficult because of his large fingers, so he took up the bass guitar instead.

Roger Daltrey had also attended the same school as Townshend and Entwistle, and  Entwistle’s talent had caught his eye. Daltrey was a year ahead of the others with his study and left school before them, but when he formed his band called the Detours, he asked Entwistle to be the bass guitarist.

Career

Once he had joined the Detours,  Entwistle was instrumental in getting Townshend admitted to the band as well. Daltreysoon got rid of all the band members except for Entwistle, Townshend, and the drummer, Doug Sandom.

The band decided that Daltrey should be the front-man and lead singer, and Townshend took over the position of guitarist. The band also changed their name to The Who.

The Who earned themselves the reputation of being the loudest band in the world because Entwistle and Townshend both used twin stacks with 200-watt amps when other bands were using 50-100-watt amps with single cabinets. Entwistle started using the higher amp to hear himself over the drummer, and Townshend did it to hear himself over John  Entwistle.

As well as performing, John  Entwistle also wrote songs and had inclusions on most of the band’s albums. Entwistle did, though, resent that Townshend wouldn’t let him sing them as well, and this made  Entwistle the first band member to release a solo album.

His first solo album was released in 1971, called, Smash Your Head Against the Wall.

In 1975, the band didn’t tour as they were concentrating on recording their album, The Who by Numbers. During this period  Entwistle toured himself doing solo concerts.

Through the 1990s,  Entwistle toured regularly. In 1990 he toured with the Best, which was a group of performers that came together for a short while, including Keith Emerson, Joe Walsh, Jeff Baxter, and Simon Phillips.

In 1995 Entwistle toured with Ringo Starr, and in 1996 and 1997 he toured with the Who for the release of their album, Quadrophenia, and then in 1998, he toured with his own band, the John  Entwistle Band.

From 1999 to 2002 he toured with the Who.

John  Entwistle was also an artist, and between 1996 and 2002 was also involved with his art and attending art openings.

As a solo artist, Entwistle released seven studio albums between 1971 and 2000.  Entwistle also released two live albums, two compilation albums, and six singles.

As a member of the Who,  Entwistle released 11 studio albums, 14 live albums, 26 compilation albums, four Eps, 58 singles, and four soundtrack albums.

Awards And Honors

As a member of the Who, John  Entwistle was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Entwistle is also a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal

John  Entwistle married Alison Wise in 1967.

Entwistle died in Las Vegas, in a room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, on 27th June 2002. His death was determined to be by heart attack.

Legacy

John  Entwistle is recognized as the greatest bass player in history. Entwistle has been compared with Jimi Hendrix, in that the way Hendrix made the guitar so popular and enthralled people with what he could do with the guitar, Entwistle was the same with the bass guitar.