About Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician. Hammett has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983; prior to joining Metallica, he co-formed thrash metal band Exodus in 1979. In 2023, Hammett and Metallica bandmate James Hetfield were co-ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's list of Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2009, Hammett was ranked number 15 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. == Early life == Hammett was born on November 18, 1962, in San Francisco, California, and raised in the town of El Sobrante. He is the son of Teofila "Chefela" Hammett (née Oyao) and Dennis L. Hammett (a merchant mariner). His mother is of Filipino, specifically Cebuano, descent and his father was of English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry, although he has referred to his father as a "a full-blooded Irishman who liked to drink and liked to scrap. He was always fighting people, even fighting his friends. He would get together with my uncles and it was just one big fucking toxic soup of masculinity, and that’s what I came out of." He attended De Anza High School in Richmond, California. While attending De Anza High School, he met Les Claypool of Primus, and they remain close friends.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.