James Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released ten studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays and 24 singles.

In 2009, Hetfield was ranked at no. 8 in Joel McIver’s book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists[1] and no. 24 by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. In Guitar World’s poll, Hetfield was placed as the 19th greatest guitarist of all time, as well as being placed second (along with Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett) in The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists poll of the same magazine. Rolling Stone placed Hetfield as the 87th greatest guitarist of all time.

Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963[2] in Downey, California, the son of Cynthia Bassett (née Nourse), a light opera singer, and Virgil Lee Hetfield, a truck driver.[3] He is of English, German, Irish, and Scottish descent.[citation needed] He has two older half-brothers from his mother’s first marriage and one younger sister. His parents divorced in 1976 when Hetfield was 13. They were very strict Christian Scientists, and in accordance with their beliefs, they strongly disapproved of medicine or any other medical treatment and remained loyal to their faith, even as Cynthia was dying from cancer.