page_title: John Entwistle
section_title: Death and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: John Entwistle / Death and legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: displayed at the Hard Rock Cafe in London.
context_page_description: John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter, film and music producer. In a music career that spanned more than 40 years, Entwistle was best known as the original bass guitarist for the English rock band the Who. He was the only member of the band to have formal musical training. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who in 1990.
  Entwistle's instrumental approach used pentatonic lead lines, and a then-unusual treble-rich sound. He was nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers". In 2011, he was voted as the greatest bass guitarist of all time in a Rolling Stone magazine readers' poll, and in its special "100 Greatest Bass Players" issue in 2017, Bass Player magazine named Entwistle at number seven.
context_section_description: Entwistle died in Room 658 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada, on 27 June 2002, one day before the scheduled first show of the Who's 2002 United States tour. He had gone to bed that night with Alycen Rowse, a local stripper and groupie, who awoke the next morning to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Clark County medical examiner determined that his death was due to a heart attack induced by a cocaine overdose. He already had heart disease and usually smoked 20 cigarettes a day. Entwistle had undergone a medical for insurance purposes before the Who's tour had started. This noted high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Entwistle's authorised biographer Paul Rees has suggested that if a physical examination had been undertaken this would have revealed that three of his arteries were blocked which necessitated surgery. Entwistle was 57 years old. His funeral was held at St Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, on 10 July 2002. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried privately. A memorial service was held on 24 October at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London. Entwistle's huge collection of guitars and basses was auctioned at Sotheby's in London by his son, Christopher, to meet anticipated taxes on his father's estate.
  On Pete Townshend's website, Townshend and Roger Daltrey published a tribute, saying, "The Ox has left the building — we've lost another great friend. Thanks for your support and love. Pete and Roger."
  Entwistle's mansion in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds and some of his personal effects were later sold off to meet the demands of the Inland Revenue; he had worked for the agency from 1962–1963 as a tax officer before being demoted to filing clerk, prior to joining the Who.
  One aspect of Entwistle's life emerged after his death that came as a surprise even to those closest to him, including the members of the Who. "It wasn't until the day of his funeral that I discovered that he'd spent most of his life as a Freemason", said Pete Townshend.
  Welsh-born bass guitarist Pino Palladino, who had previously played on several of Townshend's solo albums, took over for Entwistle onstage when the Who resumed their postponed US tour on 1 July 2002. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey spoke at length about their reaction to Entwistle's death. Some of their comments can be found on The Who Live in Boston DVD.
  On the opening night of their Vapor Trails tour, which began in Hartford, Connecticut on 28 June 2002 (the night after Entwistle's death), Geddy Lee of Rush dedicated the band's performance of the song "Between Sun and Moon" to Entwistle.
  Oasis played a version of "My Generation" during their set at T in the Park on Saturday 13 July 2002 as a tribute to Entwistle.
  In a Red Hot Chili Peppers gig at Slane Castle in 2003, Flea got on stage wearing a version of the skeleton suit Entwistle wore during The Who 1970 tour as a tribute to the bass player.
  On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Entwistle among hundreds of artists whose recordings were reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.
caption: Display of Entwistle's bass guitar along with a shirt formerly owned by bandmate Keith Moon at the Hard Rock Cafe, London
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