John Entwistle

John Alec Entwistle was born in 1944 in London, England. He was one of the founders of The Who, along with Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and Keith Moon – a band that became one of the most influential rock formations of all time. In the early years, it became clear that Entwistle did not think like a typical bassist.

Before him, the bassist closely followed the guitar and drums. After him, the bassist could now play independent melodies, improvise, lead the song, and be an equal to the other musicians. This is why many specialists rank him among the most influential bassists in history.

Interestingly, Entwistle initially played trumpet and French horn – this had a huge influence on the way he thinks about music. Among his inspirations are James Jamerson, jazz musicians, and classical music. He did not perceive the bass only as a rhythmic instrument – for him, it was another melodic voice.

The main characteristics of his style are incredible independence, high technical complexity, rich melodic lines, aggressive attack, and clearly expressed individuality. When Pete Townshend played relatively simple chords, Entwistle often built a true countermelody.

His sound is completely different from the typical bass in the 1960s – bright, aggressive, distinct, rich in high frequencies. The reason is simple: Entwistle wanted every note he played to be heard. This approach had a huge influence on later rock and metal bassists.

Over his career, he used many instruments – Fender Precision Bass, Fender Jazz Bass, Alembic, Warwick, and the specially developed Buzzard Bass. He used powerful amplifiers and relatively unusual settings for the time to achieve maximum clarity and penetrative sound.

Fingerstyle playing is his main style – he used exceptionally strong and independent right-hand work, with fingers moving at incredible speed and precision. Entwistle was among the first well-known rock bassists to widely use the three-finger right-hand technique, allowing him to perform fast passages that seem almost impossible even today.

Melodiousness is his genius – his bass is never just background but 'talks' with the guitar and vocals; often you can listen only to the bass part and it sounds like a standalone composition. For its time, he was one of the fastest bassists in the world, but he played cleanly, without unnecessary demonstration.

Thanks to his musical education, he thinks harmonically, using arpeggios, unusual intervals, and counterpoint – this makes The Who's music exceptionally rich. Entwistle is also one of the first rock bassists to perform a true bass solo during concerts – revolutionary for the late 1960s.

Among his greatest performances are My Generation (perhaps the most famous bass solo in classic rock history), The Real Me (one of the most complex bass parts ever written), Won't Get Fooled Again (an example of his power and stability), Baba O'Riley (the bass creates a sense of movement and space), 5:15 (a masterful example of technique and groove), and My Wife (a favorite song of many bassists precisely because of the incredible bass line).

Although Pete Townshend was The Who's primary songwriter, John Entwistle wrote several songs and always played an important role in building the arrangement – his musical thinking often shaped the final sound of the compositions.

In comparison with other great bassists: with John Paul Jones – Jones is more arrangement-oriented, Entwistle is more virtuosic; with Jack Bruce – both think melodically, but Entwistle uses more technical complexity; with Steve Harris – Harris further developed and modernized many of Entwistle's ideas; with Cliff Burton – Burton inherited the understanding that the bass can be a lead instrument.

John Entwistle is one of the most revolutionary bassists in the history of rock music. He didn't just expand the role of the bass guitar – he changed the way musicians think about this instrument. Without his influence, we would hardly have bassists like Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, Billy Sheehan, or John Myung in the form we know them.