John Entwistle
Photo: VH1

Cocaine caused the heart attack that killed the Who's bassist John Entwistle, a coroner reported Thursday.

The Las Vegas medical examiner also classified the death as accidental and not due to an overdose, according to the Associated Press. How much cocaine was in Entwistle's system couldn't be determined, however.

The drug caused his coronary arteries — already damaged by a pre-existing heart condition — to contract, which led to the fatal heart attack.

The 57-year-old's body was found June 27 in his hotel room at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, a day before the Who were to begin a three-month tour at the hotel's venue (see "John Entwistle, Bassist For The Who, Dead At 57").

The originally scheduled tour kickoff was postponed in the wake of Entwistle's death, but the two surviving founding members, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, along with a session bassist filling in for the departed Ox, continued with their tour plans July 1 in Hollywood, California (see "The Who, Fans Join Together At 'Very Difficult' Tour Kickoff").

• The Who
• John Entwistle
• Pete Townshend
• Roger Daltrey

John Entwistle
Photo: MCA

Just one day after Who bassist John Entwistle passed away on the eve of the band's U.S. tour, his bandmates Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey have vowed to continue on with the trek.

Although the tour's scheduled kickoff Friday (June 28) in Las Vegas has been postponed, as has Saturday's show in Irvine, California, the group will begin the three-month tour Monday in Los Angeles, according to the Who's manager. The postponed shows are expected to be rescheduled.

"The Ox has left the building — we've lost another great friend. Thanks for your support and love," Townshend and Daltrey collectively said in a statement.

Townshend and Daltrey consider the tour a tribute to John Entwistle and have the full support of the Entwistle family, which views the band's decision as what John would have wanted.

"He lived for music and will always live within the Who's music," Entwistle's son, Christopher, said in a statement. "This is what he would have wished, and our love goes out to the remaining bandmembers and the entourage that makes up the Who family."

Entwistle died in his sleep Thursday morning in his Las Vegas hotel room (see ). Session bassist Pino Palladino will fill in for Entwistle on tour, according to a spokesperson for the Who's label, MCA Records.

The decision to play on comes as much of the music community is still coming to terms with the loss of one of rock's most influential and talented players (to see what fans have to say about Entwistle's passing and share your thoughts, visit You Tell Us).

Entwistle's style — lines containing peaks and valleys that coalesced into a solid rhythm — was innovative during a time when bassists were traditionally known more for their staid dependability than their musical proficiency. But once Entwistle made his presence felt on early Who songs like "Legal Matter," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "The Ox," the role of those strapped with the four-string was never the same.

"John Entwistle was a massive force in the bass-playing world just because, for one thing, he was one of the first guys to really bring the bass to the forefront of the mix," said former Primus/current Frog Brigade frontman and bassist extraordinaire Les Claypool. "As well as his tone and the way he approached his instrument was pretty unique for its time. There are a lot of bass players out there who are influenced by Entwistle, whether they know it or not."

The slap-happy Claypool's sentiment was echoed by Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford: "Music lovers everywhere will miss John Entwistle," he said in a statement, "whether they know it or not. Another unsung hero that influenced me dies without the respect he deserves."

Even former P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins, whose on-the-one style doesn't overtly draw from Entwistle's rolling rock rhythms, acknowledges his tremendous contribution to the rock pantheon.

"Anytime you lose a person it reflects on the initial family, but when you lose a legendary part of history it seems to affect all of us," he wrote in a statement. "Thank God his part in history was well established. From one bassist to another, thank you for some really great music and fun! We miss you already."

Entwistle's unique style also demonstrated musical maneuvers never before thought possible, and he pulled them off without so much as a grimace to indicate even a strain of difficulty.

"I got the Who's Live at Leeds when I was 16, and it made me want to be a bass player," Rancid's Matt Freeman said. "He showed me that you could make the bass into a lead instrument, playing thirds and fifths and all kinds of harmonies, and not just simple rock basslines that would normally just follow the root chords. Plus his sound was always aggressive and sometimes extremely distorted. John Entwistle's bass playing will always speak to me."

Like George Harrison, who died in November (see "Former Beatle George Harrison Dead At 58"), Entwistle was the most reserved member of his animated, charismatic group, with a heart the size of his far-reaching rhythmic range.

"[He was a] great friend for many years," former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman expressed in a statement. "The quietest man in private, but the loudest onstage! He was unique and irreplaceable. I am shocked and devastated."

"He was a giant in the field," said Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, who performed with Entwistle on his band's The Deep End, Vol. 1, a forum for guest bassists to fill in for the late Allen Woody (see ). "He influenced every bass player to come after him. ... He was a wonderful, warm, funny human being."

"John was an innovative player and a fine musician," said former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. "A backbone of the English rock scene, we shall miss him."

Perhaps no song in the Who's arsenal had such a profound impact on listeners as the anthem "My Generation," and more specifically, Entwistle's tumbling solo that led to a cymbal-crashing maelstrom.

"When I was in high school," wrote former Metallica/current Echobrain bassist Jason Newsted, "I heard 'My Generation' for the first time. It opened my eyes and showed me a different approach to the bass guitar."

"He revolutionized bass playing with his bass solo in 'My Generation,' " wrote Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, "and he brought the bass technique and bass players to the forefront in rock music."

Another deft rhythm king who couldn't help being affected by Entwistle, former Minutemen and Firehose bassist Mike Watt, expressed his admiration for the "My Generation" solo with a poem:

Dearly will miss your thunderfingers
Rest easy, Ox
Always part of you
In the bassist part of me

On that "Ed Sullivan Show"
When you did "My Generation" right
With that bass solo
The cameraman focused on Townshend
Stupid f---
(The cameraman, not Pete)

Wow how he wowed me
Much taught me much
Don't be afraid, Watt
Charge hard
Let your bass sing
Your young man blues

• The Who
• John Entwistle
• Roger Daltrey
• Pete Townshend

The Who's John Entwistle
Photo: MCA

John Entwistle, bassist for the legendary rock band the Who, died in his sleep Thursday morning (June 27) in his room at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. He was 57.

Entwistle's body was discovered by his road assistant at around noon local time, said his manager Steve Luongo. The cause of death is still under investigation, but Luongo said it is believed that the bassist died of a heart attack.

While Entwistle had a heart condition, he seemed to be in good health and his death came as a complete surprise, Luongo said.

The Who had rehearsed together Wednesday night in Las Vegas and were due to launch a tour there Friday night. The bassist was also scheduled to attend a show of his artwork in Grammy's Art of Music Gallery at the Aladdin Desert Passage Shops the afternoon he died.

The band's North American outing would have been the continuation of a triumphant reunion that began in 2000 with a highly successful world tour. The renewed buzz about the band reached a peak last year when the Who became the hands-down highlight at the Concert for New York City (see "McCartney, Jagger, Bowie, The Who Come To NY's Aid"). All the tension and energy of the moment was galvanized in the band's explosive set, which included hits like "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Who Are You."

Encouraged by their recent success, the band were planning to return to the studio in October to work on their first new material since 1982's It's Hard (see "Who Hope Onstage Magic Translates To Studio"). In an interview with MTV News late last year, Entwistle said, "We're working so well as a five piece. We want to try to carry that on the album somehow. We're eager to see what happens."

The Who's last shows with Entwistle were on February 7 and 8 at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Entwistle, considered to be one of the greatest rock bassists of all time, was familiar to fans for his sturdy basslines and deadpan performance style. While vocalist Roger Daltrey bounded around the stage and swung his microphone like a lasso and guitarist Pete Townshend windmilled, Entwistle would stand stock-still and expressionless. His passages were especially important to the band's music because he held down the rhythms with flair while drummer Keith Moon flailed away.

The bassist also sang and wrote several of the band's deep tracks and B-sides, including "Silas Stingy," "Whiskey Man," "My Wife," "Trick of the Light," "The Quiet One," "Heaven and Hell" and the quirky "Boris the Spider," perhaps his best-known Who song.

"We lost the Jimi Hendrix of bass guitar," said manager Luongo.

In addition to his work with the Who, Entwistle recorded seven studio albums, beginning with 1971's Smash Your Head Against the Wall and ending with 2000's Music From Van-Pires. He was the first member of the band to release a solo LP.

With his solo material, Entwistle more deeply expressed his morbid side and his dark sense of humor, which was keenly depicted in the graveyard imagery on the cover of his third solo album, Rigor Mortis Sets In. He sometimes wore a skeleton jumpsuit onstage and was never seen without his trademark spider pendant.

Born in Chiswick, London, Entwistle was accomplished in both the piano and French horn. At age 15, he became bassist for the Confederates, a grammar-school skiffle group that also included guitarist Townshend. Impressed with his deft musicianship, Daltrey plucked Entwistle for his group, the Detours, with Townshend following his lead soon after. Drummer Keith Moon eventually rounded out the lineup, and the group renamed themselves the High Numbers, and finally the Who. The band, a frontrunner of the second wave of British Invasion groups, released their debut album, The Who Sings My Generation, in 1965.

After three albums of solid, R&B-based rock and a 1968 compilation, Magic Bus,, the Who shattered convention with the ambitious rock opera Tommy in 1969. Other landmark releases followed. 1970's Live at Leeds is widely considered to be one of the best live albums ever recorded. It was followed the next year by Who's Next, which included the hits "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Baba O'Riley." The band returned to an epic songwriting style in 1973 with Quadrophenia, a concept album about feuding sects of mods and rockers.

Tragedy struck the band in 1978 when Moon died of an accidental drug overdose just weeks after the release of the album Who Are You. He was replaced by former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones. Two more studio albums followed. Then in 1982 the band embarked on what they billed their farewell tour, which was documented on the live album Who's Last in 1984.

The band reunited a year later for Live Aid, and in 1989 they staged a 25th anniversary reunion tour. A period of dormancy followed until 1994 when the band again reformed, this time for two concerts to celebrate Daltrey's 50th birthday. The band performed a number of one-off shows of Tommy and Quadrophenia in the years that followed before staging a full-scale comeback tour in 2000.

[This story was updated on 06.27.02 at 9:15 p.m. ET.]

• The Who
• John Entwistle
• Roger Daltrey
• Pete Townshend

John Entwistle
Photo: VH1

The members of the Who have considered reentering the studio together for well over a year, and on Friday they met at their management's London office to talk about it.

Because of prior commitments by each of its members, the band will be unable record for an extended period any time soon. Nevertheless, the Who plan to schedule two short recording sessions before the end of the year, bassist John Entwistle said from his home in rural England.

"We know the magic happens onstage," he said, "but we haven't tried it in the studio yet. We're eager to see what happens. It's a long time between albums."

Eighteen years, to be exact. In 1982, the band released the uneven studio record It's Hard but broke up soon afterward following an alleged farewell tour. Since then, they've reconvened numerous times to perform "Tommy," "Quadrophenia" and greatest-hits concerts with deluxe orchestration and backing musicians. Then last year, the Who hit the road once again as a five-piece, a move that reignited their enthusiasm for playing together.

"I think that made us feel a lot closer," Entwistle said. "We're working so well as a five-piece that we want to try to carry that onto the album somehow."

The band will work on the new material at both Entwistle's and guitarist Pete Townshend's recording studios. At the moment, both artists have plenty of ideas for new songs but nothing completely written — although Entwistle has two tunes, left over from a TV project he did titled "Vampires," he might convert into Who tunes.

"They're only possibilities at this point," he said. "I'd have to change the words and a lot of stuff because they were for a kid's program and they're pretty tame. I just have ideas, riffs I know I could write songs from. But whether they're going to be in a bluesy style or something else, I don't know yet."

Entwistle said he hopes the band will also write material based around improvised passages the Who developed during their most recent tour.

"Whenever we do the jams at the end of some of our songs onstage, I try to work out some new songs around those jams," he said. "There's always loads and loads of songs in bits and pieces from that. It's basically just a matter of grabbing the bits and joining them together to see what comes out."

Even if the Who can't recapture the magic of yesteryear, the band probably won't wither up and fade away.

"Most people who come to a concert want to hear old stuff anyway. They don't want to hear new stuff they've never heard before or are just getting into," Entwistle said. "And we're still playing great together. I don't think we'll be breaking up again."

Before heading into the studio, the Who will participate in the October 20 World Trade Center benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, which will also feature Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, Macy Gray, the Goo Goo Dolls, James Taylor, India.Arie and Melissa Etheridge (see "Paul McCartney Joining Bon Jovi, Macy Gray For New York Benefit").

Entwistle said the band will play five or six songs but has yet to decide upon a setlist.

"Let's just hope they're easy ones, because we won't have much time to rehearse," he joked.

While he's honored to play the benefit, he has reservations about the size and scope of the show.

"I think it can get a little bit too much," he explained. "The more musicians on it, the less time people have to play. Also, when we did Live Aid, there was utter confusion backstage. It was a complete catastrophe as far as we were concerned. We had no monitors for the tapes we were using so everything fell apart. I'd hate to get involved in another fiasco like that."

• The Who
• John Entwistle
• Pete Townshend
• Roger Daltrey