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 BIOGRAPHY
 Clifford
Lee Burton was born on February 10, 1962 in San Francisco, CA.
His parents were two San Francisco hippies, Jan and Ray Burton.
It was from them that Cliff got his image, his hippie ideals,
but most of all, his attitude. He liked to chill and hang out.
He was really laid back, relaxed and happy. Cliff liked his beer,
his pot, etc. Cliff had his own style. He drove a 1972 VW station
wagon, he wore bell-bottoms, read H. P. Lovecraft, studied piano,
and even went to junior college. He grew up near San Francisco
with Faith No More guitarist, Jim Martin. Burton was a cross between
Clint Eastwood and E. F. Hutton... Not saying much, but when he
did, people listened.
Back in late 1982, it was decided that former bassist Ron McGovney
wasn't really pulling his weight in Metallica. He wasn't taking
the band seriously, which James and Lars had a real problem with.
By that time, Metallica was beginning to go down. Lars and James
were having problems with their Lead Guitarist, Dave Mustaine,
because of his growing addictions and abuse of alcohol and drugs,
and the terrible conflicts that he and James had on stage were
becoming more frequent. Also James didn't want to sing anymore
because he felt he wasn't doing a good enough job, so he proposed
that he play Rhythm Guitar only.
 Cliff
was discovered in August of 1982. One of Metallica's peer bands
up northmaking the rounds about this time was Trauma. In addition
to being a favorite Bay-area club circuit draw, the band was gaining
recognition through their one-song demo, featuring "Such
a Shame" that eventually was transferred to vinyl on Metal
Massacre II. More noteworthy, however, Trauma possessed within
its ranks "the most head banging bassist" Lars and James
had ever seen - Cliff Burton.
They
initially spotted him during a live Trauma show at LA's Troubadour.
Lars and James were very impressed by the way he played the bass.
Metallica
set out on a grand pursuit to get Cliff to join the band. Burton
presented the LA station band with an ultimatum, 'If Metallica
relocated to San Francisco, he would join them.
Metallica,
with all their problems, relocated to San Francisco, where they
were better received than in LA. Their first jam with Cliff occurred
in the house of sound-man Mark Witaker, where their was a studio
type setup in his garage. At the time James and Lars were living
there, having relocated Metallica to the Bay Area in 1983 to be
closer to Cliff. They recorded a 4 track demo and on March 5,
1983, Cliff played for the first time with Metallica at the Stone,
in SF. This was the beginning of 3 incredible Metalli-years.
Cliff
lived with his family in San Francisco, and for three and a half
years he worked hard to take Metallica to the top. After replacing
Ron McGovney in late 1982, Cliff instantly made a name for himself
with his classic "wind-mill" style of thrashing on stage,
with his hair flying out in all directions, and with his outdated,
completely "unfashionable" image. With his hair hanging
straight down from him head, he seemed seemed to be always dressed
in a pair of bell-bottom jeans and a faded denim jacket. If it
was cold, he wore a flannel shirt underneath.
Offstage,
he was the ultimate laid-back Californian, a total opposite from
his wild, aggressive on-stage attack. His sense of humor was great,
as were his bass solos and everything about his stage presence.
He was the most visual of all the band on-stage, he would just
go wild. Cliff was also responsible for expanding the scope of
Metallica's lyrical themes. Along with Kirk, he admired the works
of H. P. Lovecraft.
The
best example of how cool and unflappable Cliff was happened in
the summer of 1985 at their Castle Donnington Festival appearance
(August 17, 1985). Having ducked beneath a flying pear which ended
up embedding itself in his bass bin, Burton coolly sauntered over
to his stack, picked up the pear, took two bites out of it and
hurled it back into the crowd
 Cliff
was also a fine and inventive soloist, and his clever use of distortion
and wah-wah in his "(Anesthesia) -- Pulling Teeth" showpiece
made it one of the highlights of the band's live set. More importantly,
Cliff was one hell of a nice guy and a much-loved figure in the
Metallica camp. He always went out of his way to talk to the band's
fans, no matter how tired he was. He was certainly the most unanimously
appreciated by the band members as well as by the public.
For
a while there it really looked as if 1986 was gonna be Metallica's
year. After all, their third LP, Master of Puppets, had literally
taken the music world by storm and, in doing so, had made the
band virtual mega-stars in the eyes of the metal-doting public.
Metallica had finally "made it", and it seemed that
nothing could halt their inexorable rise to even greater glory.
Then, during the European leg of the group's phenomenally successful
Master of Puppets world tour, something went wrong - catastrophically
wrong.
Cliff
Burton's memorial service was held October 7, 1986. His family
and friends remembered him as a "world class local boy"
with a love for Johann Sebastian Bach, Mexican food and his hometown.
His parents said he was "an appreciative and thoughtful son.
Because of his performing, he'd sleep all day and stay up all
night and never wake us up. Once, a little boy came up to the
door, early in the morning and wanted Cliff to sign his shirt.
So Cliff staggered to the door and said 'Sure, of course I'll
sign it.'" Connie, his sister, said, "I once called
him up and said 'How do you like being a rock star?', and he was
furious. He asked me never to refer to him that way again."
At the conclusion of his memorial service "Orion" from
the band's 'Master of Puppets' album, was played. The elaborate
instrumental made a fitting tribute for the young bassist, since,
as James Hetfield recalled, Burton was Metallica's most educated
musician and "Orion" was largely his composition. Cliff's
ashes were spread at various points around the bay area, including
the Maxwell Ranch House area.
The
gap left by Cliff's death widely spread across the pages of tributes
run by the music press the week after the tragedy. In Kerrang!,
for example, advertisements were taken by friends and fans alike;
a bleak, black double-page spread ran messages from the Zazulas
("The Ultimate Musician, The Ultimate Headbanger, The Ultimate
Loss, A Friend Forever"), and Anthrax ("Bell-Bottoms
Rule!! Laugh it up, We Miss You"), while Music For Nations
also took out a page ad which simply read: "Cliff Burton
1962 - 1986." The pain ran deep.
Gen
Howards remembers: "When the Puppets tour had finished, I
waited 'til the band went to the European tour and then I went
on vacation to Cornualles. We all were very happy on what was
happening, 'specially, that Metallica was becoming one of the
most popular metal bands. We all had worked a lot in this, and
then before our eyes everything was was going ok, and the future
hadn't seemed better. Then a Wednesday morning, I take a "Sounds"
volume, I opened it, and I almost shocked. It was a really beat.
. . incredibly painful. . .
 "
Tribute was paid to Cliff Burton through $19.98 Home Vid -- Cliff
’Em All!, a collection of bootleg footage and stuff shot
for TV featuring Metallica live during the 3 years when Cliff
was in the band, including bass solos. Another tribute to Cliff
is the song "To Live Is To Die" from …And Justice
For All. The song was based on a couple of riffs that Cliff had
written. James and Lars added to them and made this instrumental.
Cliff wrote the poem that James reads in the middle of the song,
and the title was a quote that Cliff once said:
"When
a man lies he murders some part of the world
These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer
Cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home."
General
Facts
The
Bare Facts Born in at Eden Hospital Castro Valley CA, at 9:38
pm, on February 10th, 1962. A lifelong Castro Valley resident.
Transportation
His
transportation was an unreliable green Volkswagon, dubbed "The
Grasshopper". As a teenager he worked for an equipment rental
yard.
Other
Interests
Mexican
food, pier fishing, hunting, jamming & hanging out with his
two best friends Dave and Jim.
Influences
Lemmy
Kilmister of Motorhead, Geddy Lee of Rush, Geezer Butler of Black
Sabbath and Jazz bassist Stanley Clarke. Favorite Composer &
Bands Bach, Pink Floyd, The Misfits, Samhain, ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy,
R.E.M., Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Velvet Underground and Judas
Priest.
Before
Metallica
Early
bands were Easy Street, Agents Of Misfortune, and Trauma
CLIFF'S
MEMORIAL GUESTBOOK
Everyday
lot's of Metallica fans come here and write their opinions about
Cliff Burton. It's your turn now. Would you like to write something
about Cliff Burton? You can also read what other fans wrote about
Cliff...
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