Jason Newsted joined Metallica with the enormous responsibility of replacing the brilliant Cliff Burton , bassist on the band's first three albums, who died in a tragic accident at the age of 24.
Three weeks after Burton's funeral, then-bassist Flotsam and Jetsam was called in and also had the approval of Cliff's family, as he recounted in a recent interview with Metal Hammer in a special edition about Metallica's 40th anniversary.
“Just being among them was very special. I was completely prepared and confident,” he recalls. The audition took place in San Francisco, and Newsted was the last to perform. He was still on the flight back to Phoenix when he received an invitation from Lars Ulrich for another audition.
“That night, it was the third day I played with the guys, I think I spent the night in San Francisco for the first time,” he continued. “That third night, the ‘elders’ came to give their blessing. Torben Ulrich, the Burtons, some guys from the crew, people who had been there from the beginning.”
Still unassigned as Metallica's new bassist, Newsted played some classics with the band in the presence of many illustrious figures in the group's history. “So, I was just composing myself for a second, putting my bass down, unplugging Cliff's amp – I was plugging Cliff's fucking amp! – and Jan [Burton, Cliff's mother] comes into the room alone and grabs me, calling my attention. She said, 'Great job, son.' She hugged me for what went on for quite a while and said, 'You're the right one, you should be you. Please stay safe, we love you,' and she gave me a kiss,” he recounted. “That was 35 years ago, and I will never, ever forget it.”
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