Cliff graduated from Castro Valley High in 1980. After High School he joined a Bay Area band called Trauma.
At one of the Trauma gigs, Metallica's drummer Lars Ulrich and singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield discovered the God of bass doing what he did best - playing the bass.
After many months of pleas froms Lars and James, Cliff agreed to join Metallica.
Their debut album with Cliff was "Kill 'em all"
Cliff contributed greatly to the writing of Metallica's songs. His first contributions appeared in 1984 on the album "Ride the Lightning."
Sadly Cliff was killed when on a tour in Europe. The tour bus in which he was sleeping in lost control and skidded off the road. Cliff was pinned underneath it. A crane was called to lift the bus off him but it slipped and fell on him again.
His body was flown back to the United States. His funeral was held on October 7th 1986, where he was cremated and his ashes scattered at a place where he spent a lot of time, the Maxwell Ranch.
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