Cliff Burton(1962-1986)
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Clifford Lee Burton was born on February 10, 1962 in Castro Valley,
California, to Janet (Morgen) and Ray Herbert Burton. He had two siblings. His mother was from a German Jewish family, and his father was of British Isles descent.
As a youngster, Clifford always liked music, listening to genres
such as blues, classical, country and jazz, and he even liked the works
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He
loved all kinds of music, and when he attended college he became
educated in music theory. At the age of six he learned to play his
first instrument, the piano. When he became a teenager he learned to
play the bass guitar and took lessons from September 1978 to January
1980. He had played in several bands before he joined a band that would
later go on to become one of the most popular and successful bands of
all time.
In 1982 he played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles and was spotted
by James Hetfield and
Lars Ulrich, who were forming a heavy metal
band and were searching for a new bassist with creativity. The two had
gone to the Whiskey A-Go-Go at the recommendation of
Brian Slagel of Metal Blade
Records. Hetfield and Ulrich were greatly impressed with Burton's bass
playing and asked him to join their band,
Metallica. At first Burton didn't want to join
Metallica, but agreed to join if the band was willing to relocate to
San Francisco, which they did. Burton went on to perform on the band's
first three albums ("Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning" and "Master of
Puppets"), which all became hits, and with these three albums he
instantly became a favorite musician amongst many music fans, with his
impressive bass playing, powerful stage presence and very opinionated
and honest personality. Things were looking bright for Burton but,
sadly, his life was cut tragically short in 1986. After Metallica had
finished touring with Ozzy Osbourne in
1985 they began touring in 1986. On the morning of September 27 the bus
the band was touring in was driving from Stockholm, Sweden, to
Copenhagen, Denmark, to perform some more gigs, and it went into a
slide on some icy roads. Burton was thrown out of the bus' window and
the bus fell on its side and crushed him. His Metallica bandmates were
devastated over Burton's death, as were the band's fans. Burton was a
powerful force in Metallica and his loss is seen by many as one of the
most tragic losses in the history of music, which it is, because Burton
was extremely talented and helped to contribute to some of Metallica's
most successful songs. Not only that, but his live performances were
also very powerful and he was very friendly and down-to-earth, very
honest and opinionated and always willing to express his thoughts and
feelings.
Metallica paid tribute to Burton by releasing the home video _Cliff 'Em
All (1987) (V)_ and by using several unused riffs and a poem of his on
their song "To Live Is To Die", which appeared on their acclaimed 1988
album "...And Justice For All". Burton may be gone, but he'll never be
forgotten, and he will always be remembered by both Metallica and their
fans, as well as music fans in general, and his contributions to the
music industry are some of the finest that were made.
California, to Janet (Morgen) and Ray Herbert Burton. He had two siblings. His mother was from a German Jewish family, and his father was of British Isles descent.
As a youngster, Clifford always liked music, listening to genres
such as blues, classical, country and jazz, and he even liked the works
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He
loved all kinds of music, and when he attended college he became
educated in music theory. At the age of six he learned to play his
first instrument, the piano. When he became a teenager he learned to
play the bass guitar and took lessons from September 1978 to January
1980. He had played in several bands before he joined a band that would
later go on to become one of the most popular and successful bands of
all time.
In 1982 he played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles and was spotted
by James Hetfield and
Lars Ulrich, who were forming a heavy metal
band and were searching for a new bassist with creativity. The two had
gone to the Whiskey A-Go-Go at the recommendation of
Brian Slagel of Metal Blade
Records. Hetfield and Ulrich were greatly impressed with Burton's bass
playing and asked him to join their band,
Metallica. At first Burton didn't want to join
Metallica, but agreed to join if the band was willing to relocate to
San Francisco, which they did. Burton went on to perform on the band's
first three albums ("Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning" and "Master of
Puppets"), which all became hits, and with these three albums he
instantly became a favorite musician amongst many music fans, with his
impressive bass playing, powerful stage presence and very opinionated
and honest personality. Things were looking bright for Burton but,
sadly, his life was cut tragically short in 1986. After Metallica had
finished touring with Ozzy Osbourne in
1985 they began touring in 1986. On the morning of September 27 the bus
the band was touring in was driving from Stockholm, Sweden, to
Copenhagen, Denmark, to perform some more gigs, and it went into a
slide on some icy roads. Burton was thrown out of the bus' window and
the bus fell on its side and crushed him. His Metallica bandmates were
devastated over Burton's death, as were the band's fans. Burton was a
powerful force in Metallica and his loss is seen by many as one of the
most tragic losses in the history of music, which it is, because Burton
was extremely talented and helped to contribute to some of Metallica's
most successful songs. Not only that, but his live performances were
also very powerful and he was very friendly and down-to-earth, very
honest and opinionated and always willing to express his thoughts and
feelings.
Metallica paid tribute to Burton by releasing the home video _Cliff 'Em
All (1987) (V)_ and by using several unused riffs and a poem of his on
their song "To Live Is To Die", which appeared on their acclaimed 1988
album "...And Justice For All". Burton may be gone, but he'll never be
forgotten, and he will always be remembered by both Metallica and their
fans, as well as music fans in general, and his contributions to the
music industry are some of the finest that were made.