John Entwistle

I can't stand rap... people who can't sing do rap... you can sing rebellion as well as talk it... Hitler would have been in a rap band. - John Entwistle

John Alec Entwistle, also known as The Ox and Thunderfingers (born October 9, 1944 in the London suburb of Chiswick, died June 27, 2002 in Las Vegas, USA) was a British rock musician. He is best known as the bass guitarist of the British rock band The Who.

On most Who albums he wrote one or two songs himself, which were mostly also sung by him. His best known compositions are likely to be Boris the Spider and The Quiet One.

Since Pete Townshend was a pure rhythm guitarist, Entwistle adjusted his playing style to replace the missing second (lead) guitar with appropriate bass lines. His distinctive style is considered by many to be the most technical ever. When he was asked in a magazine interview why he never slapped the bass, he replied: "Why should I only play with my thumb, if I still have all fingers on my hands?".

Entwistle died on the eve of The Who's 2002 U.S. tour of heart failure. The autopsy revealed that he had cocaine in his bloodstream at the time of death. Although it seems to not have been an overdose, it might have been responsible for the heart failure. The funeral took place on July 10, 2002 in St. Edwards Church, in his home town of Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire, where he was cremated and buried privately. He was married twice and has one son.