The Ox
The Authorized Biography of The Who's John Entwistle
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4.0 • 20 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Unearth a piece of music history with this definitive, no-holds-barred biography of John Entwistle, The Who's legendary bass guitarist.
It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who represent Year Zero, the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that incontrovertible end, John Entwistle—The Who's beloved bassist—remains an enigmatic yet undeniably influential figure. However, unlike his fellow musicians, Entwistle has yet to be the subject of a major biography. In the years since his death, his enduring legacy has been carefully guarded by his loved ones, preventing potential biographers from writing the definitive account of his life-until now. For the first time, and with the full cooperation of the Entwistle family, The Ox shines a long overdue light on one of the most important figures in rock history.
Drawing on his own notes for his unfinished autobiography, as well as his personal archives and interviews with his family and friends, The Ox gives readers a never-before-seen glimpse into Entwistle's two very distinct poles. On the one hand, he was the rock star incarnate—larger than life, self-obsessed to a fault, and proudly and almost defiantly so. Extravagant with money, he famously shipped vintage American cars across the Atlantic without having so much as a driver's license, built progressively bigger and more grandiose bars into every home he owned, and amassed an extraordinary collection of possessions, from armor and weaponry to his trademark Cuban-heel boots. But beneath this fame and flutter, he was also a man of simple tastes and traditional opinions. He was a devoted father and family man who loved nothing more than to wake up to a full English breakfast or to have a supper of fish, chips, and a pint at his local pub.
After his untimely death, many of these stories were shuttered away into the memories of his family and friends. At long last, The Ox introduces us to the man behind the myth—the iconic and inimitable John Entwistle.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this powerful biography, Rees (Robert Plant: A Life) makes a strong argument that The Who's John Entwistle (1944 2002), the so-called "Quiet One," was just as self-destructive as he was stoic. Sandwiched in between the towering personalities of his bandmates guitar-windmilling Pete Townshend, strutting frontman Roger Daltry, and wild drummer Keith Moon bassist John Entwistle was the steady hand on the tiller. Drawing on Entwistle's unfinished memoir, Rees begins with a workmanlike march through the band's early history in the late 1960s, but things liven up as the band gains massive popularity with its early 1970s American tours. Onstage, Entwistle was the calm "Ox," but offstage his life was a riot of booze, cocaine, infidelity, and manic shopping sprees (he had a fleet of cars but never learned to drive), and he often paired himself with the fun but unhinged Moon, whom he considered "a little brother." The Who broke up in 1983, and Rees describes Entwistle's reclusiveness and decline in health that followed ("The Who had made him, and now The Who was gone") until his death of a heart attack in a Nevada Hard Rock Hotel bedroom with a stripper by his side. Fans of The Who wanting insight into the enigmatic band member need look no further.
