Background and career
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who served as the bassist for the thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence. Burton's early musical ventures include performing in bands such as EZ-Street and Agents of Misfortune, and frequently collaborating with guitarist Jim Martin. While performing in Los Angeles with Trauma, he was discovered by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich who asked him to replace bassist Ron McGovney in Metallica. After the release of the band's first two albums, Kill 'Em All (1983) and Ride the Lightning (1984), Burton and Metallica achieved a worldwide breakthrough with Master of Puppets (1986), often cited as both the band's best work and one of the best metal albums of all time. While touring in 1986 to support Master of Puppets, Burton was killed when the band's tour bus was involved in an accident. He received a posthumous writing credit on ...And Justice for All (1988) for the song "To Live Is to Die" and was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica in 2009. He also appeared in a 2011 Rolling Stone readers' poll recognizing the greatest bassists of all time, and in Rolling Stone's list of the 50 greatest bass players of all time.
Burton was born in Castro Valley, California, to Raymond "Ray" (1925–2020) and Janette "Jan" Burton (1925–1993). He had two older siblings, Scott (1958–1975) and Connie (1956–2026). Burton's interest in music began when his father introduced him to classical music and he began taking piano lessons. In his teenage years, Burton developed an interest in rock, classical, country, and eventually heavy metal. He began playing the bass at 13, after his brother died from a brain aneurysm. His parents quoted him as saying, "I'm going to be the best bassist for my brother." He practiced up to six hours per day, even after he joined Metallica. Along with classical and jazz, Burton's other early influences varied from Southern rock and country to the blues. Burton cited Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Stanley Clarke, Lemmy Kilmister, and Phil Lynott as major influences on his style of bass playing.
While still a student at Castro Valley High School, Burton formed his first band, EZ-Street, which took its name from a Bay Area topless bar. Other members of EZ-Street included future Faith No More members Jim Martin and Mike Bordin. Burton and Martin continued their musical collaboration after becoming students at Chabot College in Hayward, California. Their second band, Agents of Misfortune, entered the Hayward Area Recreation Department's Battle of the Bands contest in 1981. Their audition was recorded on video and features some of the earliest footage of Burton's playing style. The video also shows Burton playing parts of what would soon be two Metallica songs: his signature bass solo, "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth", and the chromatic intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Burton joined his first professional band, Trauma, in 1982. He recorded the track "Such a Shame" with the band on the second Metal Massacre compilation. In 1982, Trauma traveled to Los Angeles to perform at the Whisky a Go Go. Among those in attendance were James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, both members of Metallica, which had formed the previous year. Upon hearing, as Hetfield described it, "this amazing shredding" (parts of which later became "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth"), the two decided to recruit Burton for Metallica. They asked him to replace departed bassist Ron McGovney, and since Burton thought that Trauma was "starting to get a little commercial," he agreed. The idea of moving to Los Angeles did not sit well with Burton, who said he would join only if the band relocated from Los Angeles to his native San Francisco Bay Area. Metallica, eager to have Burton in the band, left to make a home in El Cerrito, a town located across the bay from San Francisco.
Burton's first recording with Metallica was the Megaforce demo. A demo tape the band had made prior to Burton's joining, No Life 'til Leather, managed to come into the hands of Jon Zazula, owner of Megaforce Records. The band relocated to Old Bridge, New Jersey, and quickly secured a recording contract with Zazula's label. Their debut album, Kill 'Em All, features Burton's showcase, "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth", which displayed his use of effect pedals, such as a wah-wah pedal and Electro Harmonix Big Muff, which are not commonly used by bassists. Metallica's debut album, Kill 'Em All, was originally intended to inherit the name of one of their earlier demo releases (predating Burton's participation), which was Metal Up Your Ass, but the record company did not like the title and insisted on changing it. Burton said "We should just kill 'em all, man," which gave the band members an idea for the new title. The album was released on July 25, 1983, through Megaforce Records. The band's second studio album, Ride the Lightning, showcased the band's rapidly evolving musical growth. Burton's songwriting abilities were growing, and he received credit on six of the album's eight songs. Burton's playing style and use of effects is notably showcased on two tracks: the chromatic intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (often mistaken as a guitar intro), and the "lead bass" on "The Call of Ktulu". The band's improving musicianship on Ride the Lightning caught the attention of major record labels. Metallica was signed to Elektra Records, and began working on their third album, Master of Puppets, which is considered by most critics to be a landmark album in heavy metal. Among the tracks featured in the album are the instrumental "Orion" (which features a prominent lead bass section) and the title track, which was Burton's favorite Metallica song. Master of Puppets was the band's commercial breakthrough release, and Burton's final album with Metallica. Burton's final performance was in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Solnahallen Arena on September 26, 1986, one day before his death. The final song the band performed with Burton was "Fight Fire with Fire".
When he joined Metallica in 1982, Burton's main bass was a red Rickenbacker 4001. 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. The neck pickup was swapped with a Gibson "Mudbucker" and the bridge with a Seymour Duncan "Classic Stack Jazz Bass" pickup. Burton used this 4001 on Kill 'Em All and several tracks on Ride The Lightning before technical problems forced him to retire it. Burton then briefly played an Alembic Spoiler II before it was stolen from his car. In 1985, Burton began endorsing Japanese manufacturer Aria. He initially played an SB1000 model before receiving his signature "SB Black n' Gold" bass, which he used on Master Of Puppets. In 2013, Aria released a replica of Burton's bass, called the Aria Pro II Cliff Burton Signature Bass. The company had received permission from Burton's family and Metallica to produce the instrument. The bass was officially unveiled at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. On January 25, 2013, Burton's father Ray attended the press conference where he signed autographs and talked about Burton's life and the instrument. Current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo was also present and was the first to try out the bass, playing parts of "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth". Ray Burton said, "What a beautiful instrument and a wonderful tribute to Cliff."
Burton initially combined a Sunn Beta Bass Amp with a Peavey Mark IV Series 400 head in early gigs, before switching to a pair of Mesa/Boogie D-180 heads for the heavy tone he became known for. One D-180 was used for his clean signal, the other for his effects chain. Burton favored Mesa cabinets, as well, combining a 4x12 and 1x15.
