10 Greatest Bass Players In Rock Music History
5. John Entwistle - The Who
Taking on the role of a bass player is a much bigger job than people probably realize.
As opposed to just playing the root note of the chord in every song, you have to make sure that the music doesn't crumble by playing in between the cracks and letting the track move forward. It's about being solid, and when you have someone nicknamed the Ox, you don't need to worry about a damn thing.
When looking through the back catalog of the Who, John Entwistle is probably the most sophisticated musician out of them all from a raw musical standpoint. Having been trained in musical composition in school, Entwistle was never going to be satisfied with just playing the bass notes of every chord. As such, most of his lines tend to be what you think of from a lead guitar player, which makes for many moments to grandstand like on the Real Me.
You have to remember that this was the '60s when rock was pretty conservative about the 3 minute single, and then you have a song like My Generation come out complete with a bass solo in the break where you would normally find a guitar.
You don't make a decision like that unless you have absolute faith in the bassist, but John Entwistle was the glue that held everything together.