24 Facts About Cliff Burton

Clifford Lee Burton was an American musician who served as the bassist for the thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986.

Cliff Burton was discovered by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich while performing in Los Angeles, who asked him to replace bassist Ron McGovney in Metallica.

Cliff Burton was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica in 2009.

Cliff Burton appeared in a 2011 reader poll from Rolling Stone recognizing the greatest bassists of all time, and on Rolling Stones list of the 50 greatest bass players of all time.

Cliff Burton was born in Castro Valley, California, to Raymond "Ray" and Janette "Jan" Cliff Burton.

Cliff Burton had two elder siblings, Scott and Connie.

Cliff Burton began playing the bass at age 13, after the death of his brother, who died from a brain aneurysm.

Cliff Burton cited Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Stanley Clarke, Lemmy Kilmister, and Phil Lynott as major influences on his style of bass playing.

The video shows Cliff Burton playing parts of what would soon be two Metallica songs: his signature bass solo, " - Pulling Teeth", and the chromatic intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Cliff Burton recorded the track "Such a Shame" with the band on the second Metal Massacre compilation.

The idea of having to move to Los Angeles did not sit well with Cliff Burton, who said he would join only if the band relocated from Los Angeles to his native San Francisco Bay Area.

Cliff Burton said "We should just kill 'em all, man," which gave the band members an idea for the new title.

When he joined Metallica in 1982, Cliff Burton's main bass was a red Rickenbacker 4001.

Cliff Burton made several modifications to it, in particular removing the stock high-gain pickups, which did not suit his heavy use of effects pedals and aggressive finger-style playing.

Cliff Burton used this 4001 on Kill 'Em All and several tracks on Ride The Lightning before technical problems forced him to retire it.

Cliff Burton initially played an SB1000 model before receiving his signature "SB Black n' Gold" bass, which he used on Master Of Puppets.

Cliff Burton favored Mesa cabinets, as well, combining a 4x12 and 1x15.

Cliff Burton made "distinctive" use of the Morely Power Wah Boost, using it to filter through frequencies for his bass solos.

Cliff Burton included the Power Wah Boost on his pedalboard for almost every Metallica concert, while the effect can be heard on tracks like "For Whom The Bell Tolls".

However, Ulrich's version of the event was that Hammett and Cliff Burton drew straws, while Cliff Burton drew the long straw, winning the choice of bunk.

Cliff Burton's body was cremated and the ashes were scattered at the Maxwell Ranch.

Metallica wrote a tribute to Cliff Burton titled "To Live Is to Die" for.

Cliff Burton received a writing credit for the lyrics in the middle of the song, as well as the bass lines being a medley of unused recordings Cliff Burton had performed prior to his death.

In 2017, it was revealed that Cliff Burton's parents had been donating his posthumous royalty payments to a scholarship fund for music students at his alma mater Castro Valley High School.