📍Castro Valley, CA, USA
1962 – 1983“I was born Clifford Lee Burton in February 1962 in Castro Valley, a quiet suburb in the hills of the East Bay, south-east of Oakland, the youngest of three children of Ray Burton, a highway engineer, and Jan, who taught children with disabilities in the Castro Valley school district. I had an older brother, Scott, and an older sister, Connie. I didn't walk until I was nearly two, and I was a quiet, introverted kid who preferred a good book or a record to most company. I started classical piano at about six, and I played Little League baseball for the Castro Valley Auto House team. I went to Earl Warren Junior High, where my mother taught, and to Castro Valley High School. When I was thirteen, my brother Scott, who was sixteen, was taken from us by a sudden illness, and a few months later I told my parents I wanted to learn the bass. I said I was going to be the best bassist, for my brother. I practised for hours every day, and took lessons from Steve Doherty, learning Bach and music theory, and later at Chabot College. I worked at an equipment rental yard in Castro Valley, and I loved everything from Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Misfits to Bach. I played in local bands, including Trauma, and in 1983 Metallica heard me play a bass solo at the Whisky a Go Go and asked me to join; I agreed if they moved to the Bay Area, and they did. I played on Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, bringing my love of classical music to metal. Castro Valley remembers the quiet boy who practised for his brother.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today