John Entwistle at Winterland, February 1975

John Entwistle was born in 1944, in Chiswick, London. As a child, he learned to play trumpet, french horn, and piano, and was a member of the Middlesex Youth Orchestra. He later took up the bass guitar, and during his teen years he played in two bands, The Confederates and The Scorpions, with Pete Townshend. In the early 1960s, John and Pete joined with Roger Daltrey in The Detours. In 1964, the Detours became The Who, and Keith Moon joined as drummer. Shortly after, The Who fitted themselves to mod style and became known as The High Numbers. They released their first single as The High Numbers, "I'm the Face," on Fontana Records in 1964, and then became The Who again.

The Who, with the sterling musicianship and unassuming personality of John Entwistle always providing a steady foundation, went on to become one of the preeminent bands of the 1960s and 1970s. The unbeatable lineup of Daltrey (lead vocals, harmonica), Townshend (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals), Entwistle (bass, brass, vocals) and Moon (drums, vocals, general mayhem) recorded a string of peerless albums (My Generation, A Quick One, The Who Sell Out, Tommy, Live at Leeds, Who's Next, Quadrophenia, The Who by Numbers, Who Are You) between 1965 and 1978, and appeared before frenzied audiences at top venues around the world, becoming particularly known for the vehement power and unfailing excitement of their performances.

John Entwistle, known to his peers as "The Ox," had an essential part in creating the thunderous sound of The Who from the beginning, and his distinctive bass was a strong feature on one of their first and most famous hits, "My Generation," released in 1965. He also wrote and sang his own songs on albums by The Who, starting with "Boris the Spider" and "Whiskey Man" on A Quick One in 1966. Over the following years, his songs with The Who included "Silas Stingy" (The Who Sell Out, 1967), "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About" (Tommy, 1969), "My Wife" (Who's Next, 1971), "Success Story" (The Who by Numbers, 1975), and "Had Enough" and "Trick of the Light" (Who Are You, 1978).

In 1971, John Entwistle released his first album under his own name, Smash Your Head Against the Wall, on Track Records. It was recorded with help from some of his friends (Keith Moon, Jerry Shirley of Humble Pie, Viv Stanshall and Neil Innes of The Bonzo Dog Band), and contained a collection of sly, mordant songs, including "My Size," "Heaven and Hell," "You're Mine," and "I Believe in Everything," that showcased both his musical prowess and his dark sensibilities. Smash Your Head Against the Wall was followed by Whistle Rhymes (1972), and Rigor Mortis Sets In (1973). In the meantime, he continued to carry out his duties as stalwart bassist with The Who.

When John Entwistle performed with his own band, John Entwistle's Ox (Robert Johnson on guitar, Mike Deacon on keyboards, Jeff Daly on saxophone, Graham Deakin on drums), at Winterland in San Francisco on February 22, 1975, he was promoting the release of his fourth album, Mad Dog. His performance offered a rare opportunity to see a true legend of rock 'n' roll at fairly close range, playing in a venue that was considerably smaller than the big arenas and enormous stadiums in which The Who usually appeared.

After 1975, John Entwistle remained active as a performer, regularly appearing onstage in the 1980s and 1990s with The Who, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, and also on his own. However, his unhealthy way of living, which included longtime habits of alcohol, cocaine, and cigarettes, suddenly caught up with him in June, 2002, cutting his life short at fifty-seven, following a night on the town in Paradise, Nevada, where he and the other members of The Who were about to begin a tour of the United States. The tour went ahead, but without the stunning talent and singular character of "The Ox."

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I never saw The Who perform during their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, much to my regret (although I did finally attend one of their performances, with Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, on drums, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in 2000), but in 1975 I figured that seeing John Entwistle at Winterland was better (much better, actually) than nothing. Also, I knew that seeing him at Winterland, where the audience could be close to the front of the stage, would afford me a chance to get a good look at him.

It seemed odd to see such a major star as the middle act, supporting another headliner. Apparently John Entwistle's membership in The Who, as impressive as it was to me, was not enough to put him at the top of the bill, probably because records by John Entwistle did not sell in the same huge quantities as records by The Who. In any case, I regarded it as a great thrill to see him, from a short distance, performing a set of his own songs (particularly "Boris the Spider," "My Wife," and "Heaven and Hell") with his own band. It was one of the few times that I was ever able to get so close to someone of his musical stature.

John Entwistle was famous for standing quite still while he was performing, so it was left mostly to his guitarist, Robert Johnson (a musician who was unknown to me at the time), to provide a bit of visual interest. The band gave solid backing to John Entwistle and his eccentric compositions, but even without any overt actions from the impassive bassist (who played a Gibson Thunderbird IV at high volume), it was clear that he was firmly in charge of the situation. In his quiet way, he appeared to enjoy having his own time in the spotlight.

After the performance, my friends and I left the hall and ran out to the stage door, feeling extremely excited at the prospect of meeting John Entwistle. I tended to be reasonably calm when I met famous musicians in those days, but meeting John Entwistle, one of The Who, was different. I remember being in awe of him. When he came out, he was friendly and readily signed autographs. I think that, although he generally was loath to make an exhibition of himself on stage, he actually liked the experience of being treated as a star.