METALLICA - Former Bassist CLIFF BURTON's Father Recalls Band's Early Days, Praises JAMES HETFIELD In New Interview (Audio)
August 10, 2017, 6 years ago
The father of original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, Ray Burton, recently guested on Alphabetallica for a very special episode digging into his own Metallica history as well as celebrating the genius of his beloved son. Ray recalls the first time he saw Cliff play with Metallica and reveals that he gives a scholarship to the high school that Cliff went to, the Castro Valley High School, for music from his royalties.
Ray Burton on James Hetfield: "James does a fantastic job as a singer and the frontman. He's just an absolute natural. I remember one time asking him if he was a cheerleader in high school. Got a big laugh; he was anything but that. It always amazed me, here's a guy that was quite quiet and just turning out to be fantastic guitar player first of all, and singing his heavy metal tunes, getting the crowd to join in on the program."
Cliff Burton died on September 27, 1986 in a bus accident in Kronoberg County, a rural area of southern Sweden, as the band was touring in support of the Master of Puppets album.
