Kirk Lee Hammett

Kirk Lee Hammett (born on November 18, 1962) is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. Respected among his peers for his guitar style, in 2003 Hammett was ranked 11th in Rolling Stone's list - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Born in San Francisco to a Filipino mother and an Irish Merchant Marine father,[citation needed] Kirk Hammett attended De Anza High School in Richmond, California when his family moved to the East Bay where he met Les Claypool from Primus. He also attended a Catholic church. As a child and teenager, he showed great interest in his older brother Rick's extensive collection of guitars, Rickenbacker Basses and hard rock records, including material by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Status Quo, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and UFO. One of his biggest influences was Jimi Hendrix, and Hammett was quoted as saying he wanted to be Jimi. He has also performed parts of Hendrix's songs during his guitar solos. He took up the guitar for the first time at the age of fifteen, beginning with a Montgomery Ward catalog special and little more than a shoebox with a four inch speaker for an amplifier. After picking up a 1978 Fender Stratocaster, Hammett attempted to customize his sound with various guitar parts, eventually falling for a 1974 Gibson Flying V. He also took a job at Burger King to raise money for a Marshall amplifier.