Jun 272015
 

In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

johne

On June 27, 2002, John Entwistle died at the age of 57. Four days later, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend began a tour as the Who. The show began with Daltrey announcing, “Tonight we play for John Entwistle…. He was the true spirit of rock & roll, and he lives on in all the music we play.” It goes without saying that all the music they’ve played since hasn’t been the same as it would have been with ol’ Thunderfingers in front of his Marshall stack, stone still except for his amazing hands.

While Townshend’s songs were the lifeblood of the Who, Entwistle carved out a distinctive part in the band’s voice with his own writings. Where Townshend’s work could take itself very seriously, Entwistle’s was able to be both lighter and darker – lighter in that it showed a sense of humor, darker in how ghoulish that sense of humor could be. He leavened the band even as he bolstered it.
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