Cliff Burton is an iconic American musician and songwriter. Popularity brought him participation in the band Metallica. He lived an incredibly rich creative life.
Against the background of the rest, he was favorably distinguished by professionalism, an unusual manner of playing, as well as an assortment of musical tastes. Rumors still circulate around his composing abilities. He was influential in the development of heavy metal.
Childhood and youth Cliff Burton
He was born in the small American town of Castro Valley. The artist's date of birth is February 14, 1962. The parents of the future star had nothing to do with creativity. Despite this, music was often played in their house. They were genuinely surprised when their son chose the profession of a musician for himself.
Family evenings were the most beneficial for everyone. Parents, who, by the way, collected records of classical works, in the evenings listened to the immortal compositions of the legendary classics. Later, they taught children to this occupation.
In the late 60s of the last century, the guy began to take piano lessons. He caught frantic pleasure from a new hobby. Especially, the young man was attracted to improvisation. The guy's brother followed Cliff's lead. He picked up bass and electric guitar.
In the mid-70s, the family suffered misfortune. Cliff's older brother has passed away. That was the first time Burton felt the pain of loss. It took him a long time to come to his senses and could not put up with the death of a relative who had become an authority for him. Then Cliff promised himself that he would definitely learn to play the guitar and achieve good results in the profession of a musician.
Cliff took guitar lessons from an advanced Californian virtuoso. Rumor has it that the guy devoted at least 6 hours a day to classes. After some time, he replenished the repertoire with the first compositions. They were imbued with the best traditions of country style.
When he got acquainted with the sound of heavy music, he first thought about creating something like that. He found like-minded people in Jim Martin and Mike Bordin. The trio dreamed of conquering the musical Olympus.
The creative path of Cliff Burton
Even in his school years, he "put together" the first team. The brainchild of the musician was named EZ-Street. In addition to Cliff himself, his school friends joined the squad. Only friends and relatives knew about the existence of the group. But, the team was disbanded after Cliff left his hometown.
Cliff, along with Jim Martin, continued to experiment with sound after entering Shabo. The Agents of Misfortune group took part in a kind of musical battle, because other students decided to take the bass player "on the loose."
At the same time, a signature bass solo appeared as a preview of the instrumental "(Anesthesia) Tooth Extraction". After this promising musician, already established stars of the musical arena noticed.
In the early 80s, Cliff joined the then little-known group. We are talking about the Trauma team. Soon the guys presented a full-length longplay to fans of heavy music. The album was favorably received not only by acquaintances and relatives. The group finally got its first fans.
Since that time, he has been performing at the best venues in the city. In one of the clubs, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich noticed him. After the performance, they approached Cliff and thanked him for the cool music.
The musicians were very impressed with what Cliff can do on the guitar. Ulrich immediately realized that in the person of Burton he had found another member of the Metallica group. His bass solo really seemed unique.
Working with Metallica
Soon, James and Las offered Burton to sign a lucrative contract. He did not immediately give a positive answer. In his heart, he knew that Trauma was gradually rolling down and was of no interest to him.
For a long time he did not dare to sign a contract, because he did not know what it was like to live in a world of passions and fake emotions. He was embarrassed that Metallica musicians work in the style of glam metal. But in the end - he joined the team.
Soon"Metallica"moved to El Seritto. The demos of the guys fell into the “right hands”. The prestigious label Zazula became interested in the group. From among the recorded songs, the experts evaluated the Whiplash track.
After some time, fans enjoyed the sound of Kill 'Em All. The album proved to be incredibly successful. The fans drew attention to the guys. In just a few months, Cliff has become a real star.
On the release, called Ride The Lightning, Cliff co-wrote the songs. Master Of Puppets - became the pinnacle of a musician's career.
Details of the artist's personal life
He was called the soul of the company. Cliff was a fun and outgoing guy. He definitely enjoyed success with the fairer sex. He had a girl. He wanted to marry the charming beauty Corinne Lynn. For a tragic reason, the wedding never took place.
Death of Cliff Burton
While on tour in Sweden, the members of the Metallica team were forced to live on a bus. Before going to bed, the guys played cards for the most comfortable places. Clifford switched beds with Kirk Hammett. The musician was placed not far from the tail.
On the way, the bus overturned. At this time, the musicians were sleeping. Due to the strong impact, Cliff fell out of the vehicle. He was crushed by an aggregate that weighed several tons.
Date of death of the guitarist - September 27, 1962. At the time of the tragedy, he was only 24 years old. Cliff's body was cremated. The musician was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
