Cliff Burton Day Adds Livestream
Last week, friends and family celebrated Metallica legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Cliff Burton, who would have turned 63 on February 10.
The annual “Cliff Burton Day” event—a tribute to the musician who called Castro Valley home—kicked off with a gathering at the Chabot Theater, live performances, and stories of the celebrated bassist.
Nicknamed "The Major Rager,” Clifford Lee Burton died on September 27, 1986, in a bus accident while on tour with Metallica in Sweden. He was 24.
This year, organizers added a live stream of the event, including interviews, snippets of performances, and video of the festivities. The highlights included an amazing performance of “Fade to Black” by Maya Neelakantan, the 2022 Cliff Burton Scholarship recipient.
“I remember [Cliff’s stepsister] KayCee [Burton Ramirez] once told me that [Cliff’s father] Ray told Cliff that melancholy in the song is always very important, and this song definitely has that, but something was telling me to add my own style of melody before the song,” Neelakantan said.
She recounted her feelings about playing guitar since she was six years old, having the Burton family award her the 2022 scholarship, and later playing “Master of Puppets” on the television show “America’s Got Talent.”
“Metallica was the first thing that inspired me to play guitar and watching videos of Cliff Burton play,” Neelakantan said. “Having the Cliff Burton family themselves connect to me feels like Cliff himself is talking to me and proving that he is still with us right now.”
This is the eighth year the community has come out to celebrate Burton. Castro Valley and Alameda County officials commemorated the day in 2018 following an organized campaign by Robert Souza.
Burton played on Metallica’s first three studio albums — “Kill 'Em All”, “Ride The Lightning” and “Master Of Puppets” — and co-wrote classic songs like “Ride The Lightning”, “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, “Fade To Black”, “Creeping Death” and “Master Of Puppets”.
Burton's initial replacement in the group was Jason Newsted, who stayed in the lineup until 2001. Robert Trujillo joined in 2003 and remains in the band to this day.
Cliff’s father, Ray, carried on his son’s legacy until he passed away in January 2020 at the age of 94. Along with Cliff’s mother, who passed away in 1993, the family set up a Castro Valley High School music student scholarship in Cliff’s name.
Burton’s legacy has carried far beyond his music. The Cliff Burton Museum opened in Laganland, Ljungby, Sweden, in May 2022. Pop culture collectible designers at Super7 created two Cliff Burton action figures. San Francisco-based KnuckleBonz sells a collectible statue, and Walnut Creek's Calicraft Brewing crafted an IPA named after him called “Cliff Em’ All IPA.”
You can watch the live stream on YouTube. https://youtu.be/jOpyP5Tlpq8