cliffburton86

The greatest bassist in the world had died...

The individual death reverberated throughout the entire group. At the time of the accident, Cliff was sleeping upstairs on the right side of the vehicle, and when it began to overturn, he was hurled out of the window. The bunk was overturned and crashed into another beside it. Burton was crushed by the bus and died instantly. Thus, tragically, in the brief span of those terrifying seconds, on that desolate Swedish road, what seemed like a dream moment for Metallica was abruptly transformed into a hellish nightmare. Their 24-year-old bassist, Clifford Lee Burton, was dead.

It was almost dawn on a Saturday, September 27, 1986, and two of the four buses were on their way to Copenhagen, where a fourth show was scheduled. They were traveling on a lonely and completely deserted road connecting Stockholm and Copenhagen: there was no one around during those early hours of the morning.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, at 5:15 AM, one of the vehicles swerved violently to the right and began to pick up speed along the opposite side of the road. The driver completely lost control, and the crash was inevitable. On board were the four band members, along with Lars's roadie, Flemming Larsen, Kirk's assistants, John Marshall and Aidan Mullen, and road manager Bobby Schneide. The brief but horrific excursion lasted about 20 meters. Eventually, the vehicle was overturned on its side and found in a ditch at the edge of the road near the small Swedish town of Ljungby. Most of the bus passengers, amid the inevitable chaos that ensued, began to rummage through the wreckage. Three of the four band members emerged from all the commotion.
In reality, the occupants were very fortunate to sustain only minor injuries, along with the understandable shock: Lars broke a finger, James had only superficial injuries, and Kirk, who fainted after the crash, regained consciousness and made his way out through an emergency exit with a swollen eye. It was a tragic and cruel accident that destroyed everything Metallica had built up to that point.

A tribute to Cliff was made with the home video 'Cliff'em All', a collection of bootlegs and brief TV appearances from the magical three years he was in the band, including some of his bass solos. Another tribute is the song 'To Live is To Die', featured on the album '...And Justice For All'. Structured around some riffs written by Cliff, it was completed by James and Lars with the final instrumental part. Burton also wrote a short verse that James recited in the middle of the song, and the title itself is a quotation from a phrase by Cliff: "When a man lies, he kills a part of the world. These are the pale deaths that men improperly call their lives. I can no longer bear to be a witness to all this. May the kingdom of salvation, bring me home no more."

The memorial for Cliff took place on October 7, 1986. His family and friends remembered him as a worldly boy with a great love for Johann Sebastian Bach, Mexican food, and his hometown. Cliff’s ashes were scattered at various points in the Bay Area, in San Francisco. The void left by Cliff's death filled most of the pages of music magazines that came out the week after the tragedy. On 'Kerrang!', for example, there were ads from friends and fans; a tragic double-page spread completely black was filled entirely with announcements from the Zazula family ("The last musician, the last head-banger, the last loss, a friend forever") and from Anthrax ("Bell-Bottom, you will always be the best!!! We will miss you"), while Music for Nations featured a simple yet powerful inscription: "Cliff Burton 1962 - 1986." Everyone was struck by deep sorrow.

After the replacement of Ron McGovney in 1982, he immediately started to make a name for himself, thanks to his classic 'windmill' style (his hair flying in all directions) and his 'outdated' look. With his shaggy hair, he was always dressed in a pair of bell-bottom jeans and a faded denim jacket. If it was cold, he also wore a flannel shirt.
Offstage, he always remained in the background, the exact opposite of his wild and aggressive persona on stage. His sense of humor was great, as were his bass solos and everything about his on-stage presence. Cliff was also an excellent and inventive soloist, and his ingenious use of distortion and wah-wah made pieces like 'Anesthesia - Pulling Teeth' one of the band's live performance highlights.
But even more: he was a well-loved person among Metallica fans and never refused to chat with them, despite the fatigue after a concert. He was certainly the most appreciated member.

James said, "We heard a wild solo and thought, 'I don't see any guitarist on the stage...'. It turned out to be the bassist, Cliff, with a wah-wah and his flowing hair. He didn't care about the people listening to him; he only focused on what he was playing."
The Metallica guys did everything they could to bring him into the band.
Burton showed up at the Los Angeles station with an ultimatum: if Metallica moved to San Francisco, he would join them.
Lars, James, and Dave, despite all their issues, moved, and had a better impact compared to Los Angeles.
The first jam session with Cliff took place at Mark Witaker's house, who had a studio inside his garage, on December 28, 1982.
After the move, James and Lars lived there.
On March 5 of the following year, they recorded a 4-track demo, and Cliff made his first appearance with Metallica at 'The Stone' in San Francisco: this was the beginning of three unforgettable years.

In 1982, Metallica realized that Ron McGovney wasn't up to playing bass with them: he didn't take the band seriously enough, quite the opposite of Lars, James, and their ambitions. Things weren't going very well for Metallica: problems also stemmed from Dave Mustaine, due to his heavy alcohol and drug use and his terrible and increasingly frequent conflicts with James, both on and off stage. Hetfield himself decided to stop singing, feeling inadequate, to focus solely on rhythm guitar. Cliff was noticed by Lars and James in August 1982. One of the main bands that Metallica had intense relations with was Trauma. Besides being one of the best bands in the Bay Area scene, the group was gaining a certain level of popularity thanks to their demo (which consisted of just one song!!!) 'Such a Shame,' which was included in the compilation 'Metal Massacre II.' But the most important thing was that Trauma had, among its ranks, 'The Most Head-Banging Bassist' Lars & James had ever seen: Cliff, indeed. The two first noticed him during a show at the 'Troubadour' in Los Angeles and were very impressed by his way of playing bass.

It was from his parents that he took on his image and ideals. He was a very laid-back, relaxed, happy, and straightforward person, with a strong inclination for experimentation.
Cliff was tall, determined, and on his right arm sported a tattoo featuring the grinning skull logo of the Misfits. He didn't care what people said about him.
He loved his beer, his joint, and had a very personal style: he drove a 1972 Volkswagen station wagon (which he called 'Grasshopper'), wore bell-bottom jeans, read H.P. Lovecraft, and studied piano.
He grew up near San Francisco with former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin.
His biography should be read not in words but through his music.
He started playing in 1976. Steve Doherty was his first bass teacher, from September 1978 to January 1980.
He introduced him to various musical styles ranging from classical to jazz.

Clifford Lee Burton was born at 9:38 PM on February 10, 1962, at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, San Francisco, California, to Jan and Ray Burton.
His parents were two true hippies from San Francisco. His father was from Tennessee and worked as a technician on the highways in the San Francisco Bay Area. His mother was born in California and worked at the local school in Castro Valley, where she taught disabled students. Cliff had an older brother, Scott, and an older sister, Connie.