Metallica - Hall of Fame speech (Lars & James)

[Shawn]

In 1983 I bought a tiny independent release called "Kill 'Em All", from a band that I had never heard of...it was to change my life forever. They were as underground as you can possibly get, they were mirror images of their fans, they became more of a religion to their fans than just a band.

No matter if you hate them, love them or are ambivalent about them...they deserve the honor and are truly an original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jz96Ry4pUg

Extra special props to Lars for mentioning Dexter Gordon & Miles in his speech...and for James listing off many of the other hard rock & metal bands that SHOULD ALREADY BE IN THE HALL OF FAME!

[T.D.]

Interesting. I recall Torben Ulrich as a tennis player, but didn't know he was a musician.

[Big Wheel]

Nothing odd about Lars mentioning Dexter and Miles. His father, Torben Ulrich (in the audience w. long hair and beard) is a clarinetist (among many other worthwhile things) who had his own band and jazz club in Copenhagen during the early Fifties. Torben was also an accomplished tennis pro. He once told me that he was the first jazz musician to play in Newport (it was tennis, of course).

Remember, too, that Lars is Danish and Dexter lived in Denmark.

The connection is closer than that. Wasn't Dexter Lars's godfather?

[Shawn]

Thanks for the information Chris. I had read that he was a tennis pro but never knew he was a musician and club owner. I've seen interviews with him (in the Metallica documentary) and he seems like a very interesting guy. He also looks quite good for being in his 80's.

[Joe G]

I poke fun at 'em now, but yeah, they rocked. Master of Puppets was released just before my 16th birthday. I thought it was the most incredible album I'd ever heard.

[Shawn]

I poke fun at 'em now, but yeah, they rocked. Master of Puppets was released just before my 16th birthday. I thought it was the most incredible album I'd ever heard.

We're very close to being the same age, I can't remember the month that album was released but I turned 16 in August of that year.

It's still amazing to realize that Master Of Puppets went triple platinum and reached #30 on the Billboard charts...and at that time they had no radio airplay, no videos and were writing 8 minute songs. That was also the first metal album I remember music critics really tripping over each other to praise. Groundbreaking in several aspects.

[BFrank]

The "big bottom" (2 bass) version of Metallica performing was very good, too. As was the super-guitar jam on "Train Kept A-Rollin'" at the end - Beck, Page, Hetfield, Hammett, Ron Wood, Joe Perry, Flea, both Metallica bass players and Lars. Those "jams" are usually a mess, but this time it worked.

[AllenLowe]

I figured he mentioned Dexter because Dexter's the only guy he could think of who used more drugs than Metallica -

[Brad]

I had barely heard of Metallica until my son (who is a metal head) became a fan. Of course, he now has all their stuff and I dig it too. I loved their induction last night and just wished they'd done more songs. I thought the whole show was great, particularly Wanda Jackson.

[mjzee]

Nothing odd about Lars mentioning Dexter and Miles. His father, Torben Ulrich (in the audience w. long hair and beard) is a clarinetist (among many other worthwhile things) who had his own band and jazz club in Copenhagen during the early Fifties. Torben was also an accomplished tennis pro. He once told me that he was the first jazz musician to play in Newport (it was tennis, of course).

Remember, too, that Lars is Danish and Dexter lived in Denmark.

The connection is closer than that. Wasn't Dexter Lars's godfather?

From Wikipedia's page on Dex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Gordon):

"When he lived in Denmark, he became friends with the family of the future Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, and subsequently became Lars's godfather."