Cliff Burton’s royalty cheques cover scholarships at Metallica star’s old school

Late Metallica star Cliff Burton’s father has been donating his son’s royalty cheques to the rocker’s old high school.
The bassist, who played on Metallica’s first three albums, died in a bus accident in 1986, and rather than pocket the cash his son earned for playing in the band, 92-year-old Ray Burton has been using the money to help students at his son’s old school Castro Valley High School by handing out scholarships.
“The kids that have won it thank me for it,” Ray tells Alphabettallica. “I think Cliff probably would have done that with his money, because he was not against education by any means. He liked it very much.”
And the late rocker’s proud dad can still remember celebrating with his son after he received his first royalty cheque: “I think it was $1,500,” he smiles. “He said, ‘Mom and dad, here’s my first cheque. Come on, I’ll take you out to dinner tonight’.
“We went to dinner to his favourite sushi place in Hayward, which is right next door to Castro Valley (school). That was the first thing that I got that maybe there were bigger things down the road.”
And Burton is still a fan of his boy’s old band, adding, “Music should be entertaining to you, and they certainly are. James (Hetfield) does a fantastic job as a singer and the frontman. He’s just an absolute natural.”