Cliff Burton

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.