James Hetfield Biography
In Brief....
James Alan Hetfield.
Born: August 3, 1963
From: Los Angeles, California
Personal: Married, 1 Child
Specialty: Angst-ridden, soul-rending, growling, loud-ass vocals
Instrument: vocals, guitars
Vitals: blue eyes, blonde hair, 6'1"/1.85 meters tall, weighs 180
lbs/81.65 kilos
Views from band members.....
"James is probably the driving creative force." - Kirk
"Hetfield brings the pride. He stands a very tall
and strong guy over all of, not just the music,
but all of what is Metallica." - Jason
Biography.....
James Hetfield is the voice, among other things, of Metallica's songs
but it wasn't always planned that way... In the early days, Metallica
tried a few different vocal/guitar configurations. Some of the
experiments included adding another guitar player, or having then lead
guitar player Dave Mustaine play the sole guitar. John
Bush from Armored Saint was even asked to sing for the band at one
point. Hetfield was born to a truck driver and light opera singer on
August 3rd, 1963, in Los Angeles. His family's Christian Science
religious beliefs are often mentioned as the root of James'
"tortured soul" lyrics. Musically, he began at age 9 with
piano lessons, then banging away on his brother David's drums and
finally to guitar.
With his guitar in hand, James aspired to become a rock star in his
first band, Obsession. The band was made up of the Veloz brothers on
bass and drums and Jim Arnold on guitar. A pair of friends, Ron McGovney
and Dave Marrs, acted as the band's roadies. This meant sitting in the
loft of the Veloz garage running a control panel for makeshift lighting
effects. After Obsession broke up, the Marrs-Hetfield-McGovney trio
continued jamming together.
Phantom Lord was James Hetfield's second band. After moving to La Brea,
James attended Brea Olinda High School and met up with drummer Jim
Mulligan. The two would jam at lunch time with another guitar player,
but eventually scared him away with their loud and heavy sounds. Hugh
Tanner was discovered carrying around part of a flying V guitar at
school.. and shortly thereafter, Phantom Lord was born. With Hugh on
guitar and Mulligan on drums, James sang and played guitar. The group
went through a few bass players until graduation when James moved back
to Downey.
In Downey, James moved into a house owned by Ron McGovney's parents that
was slated for demolition due to an expressway expansion. This house was
the perfect placefor James and Ron to crash and hold rehearsal and
practice jams. James talked Ron into taking up bass, and promised to
teach him...
And as Ron joined the group, Phantom Lord was no more.. they were now
Leather Charm.
James Hetfield's third band overall, Leather Charm was formed from the
members of Phantom Lord, except that James performed sole singing duties
(no guitar) and Ron was added to play bass guitar. Completing the
line-up were Phantom Lord carry-overs Hugh Tanner and Jim Mulligan.
Leather Charm was more of a glammy attempt at music. The band played
originals and covers like Quiet Riot's "Slick Black Cadillac,"
Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow" and a few others. The band
managed to perform at a few parties and recorded a demo, but then began
to fall apart.
First Tanner left the band and was replaced by Troy James. Then Mulligan
left for a more progressive, Rush-like band. With no drummer, the band
was forced to call it quits. Although it was Mulligan's departure that
led to James searching for a new drummer, it was Hugh Tanner that
introduced James to Lars Ulrich.
Ultimately it was Leather Charm's break up, through Jim Mulligan's
quitting, that led James and Lars to meet... and to form Metallica.
From the very start, James has been the main songwriter in Metallica,
from the riffs to the lyrics. When he's not writing, singing or playing,
James indulges in hunting and various sports. He's recently taken up
snowboarding, as he has hung up his skateboard after a series of
mishaps.
Guitars are a major part of his life and he has started collecting older
guitars... particularly those manufactured in 1963, the year he was
born. He can be found in his garage working on a new passion: hot rods.
He currently has a Chevy BelAir that he built himself.
James is married and has one daughter.
Related Links:
James Equipments | James Pictures | James Quotes
