Cliff Burton

Cliff Burton's death is no doubt one of the greatest tragedies in Rock Music history. Cliff was blessed with a gift, that was uncomparable to any other bassist in the world. He was truely the greatest. When he played, the music came alive in a way that no other bassist could duplicate. Cliff was like the Jimi Hendrix of Bass Guitar. You don't normally think of a bassist as great. Usually it's the lead guitarist, lead singer, etc., that you think of with greatness, but not this time. Cliff Burton was truely a rock legend, and remains one to this day.

Growing up in the Bay Area, Cliff was exposed to many great musicians. In 1981, he began playing, himself, hooking up with a local band named Trauma. They recorded a few things, but his career soared when he joined Metallica. They were so impressed with him that they were willing to move from Los Angeles to San Francisco because Cliff didn't desire to leave the bay. Metallica recorded three of the rip-roaringest albums ever (Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets) with Cliff and were on their way to greatness. On the morning of September 27th, 1986, Cliff Burton was killed in a freak accident in Metallica's tour bus in Scandinavia. This forced the shocked remaining members of Metallica to discontinue their Master of Puppets tour.

The band took some time to grieve for the loss of their fellow Metallica member and true friend, but they knew that they had to go on. So they hooked up with a young bassist named Jason Newsted and went on with their lives. Still, they can never forget Cliff. He was a treat to watch and he will be missed, and never forgotten.