James Hetfield

James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in a Los Angeles newspaper, searching for band mates. Since then, Metallica has earned nine Grammy Awards and gone on to release nine studio albums, three live albums, four EPs, 24 music videos, and 45 singles. In 2009, Hetfield was ranked number 8 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists, and ranked twenty-fourth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time.