Kirk Hammett

Background

Kirk Lee Hammett was born in San Francisco, California, on November 18, 1962. He is a guitarist and songwriter, best known for his outstanding career in the heavy metal band, Metallica. Hammett began to show interest in music after exploring his brother Rick Hammett’s extensive record collection which included Led Zeppelin, U.F.O., and Jimi Hendrix. He began selling his horror magazine collection to afford his music obsession, which led him to pick up the guitar at 15.

A year later, Hammett formed the band Exodus alongside Paul Baloff, Tim Agnello, Geoff Andrews, and Tom Hunting. Despite being part of an influential band in the Bay Area thrash movement, something else came up for Hammett. As Metallica’s lead guitarist Dave Mustaine’s substance abuse caused him to get fired, and Hammett got to audition in New York on April 1, 1983. The first song they played was ‘Seek and Destroy,’ with Hammett pulling off the solo, vocalist James Hetfield knew it had to be him. Hammett was instantly asked to join the band.

On April 4, 2009, Hammett, alongside his Metallica mates James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Robert Trujillo, and former Metallica bandmates Jason Newsted and the deceased Cliff Burton, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To this day, Hammett is a legend and an inspiration to future musicians and as he ventures himself with new solo and experimental work, we hope that he keeps his promise of staying on stage until he is old and gray.