It's Jason Newsted's Birthday!
One of the hardest working musicians in metal, Jason Newsted got his start with Flotsam & Jetsam and blazed a trail through the early 80's, as the band solidified itself as one of the second wave of big thrash metal bands that came after the impact of the big four bands of Metallica, Megadeath, Anthrax, and Slayer.
When Metallica suffered the loss of Cliff burton, Newstead would leave Flotsam and join Metallica. His run with the band ran through their crossover success, performing on their last true thrash album ...And Justice for All in 1988, and the breakout self-titled Metallica in 1991, followed by Load and Reload, would solidify Metallica as one of the biggest rock bands of all time.
After a dispute within the band to experiment with a side band, Jason would leave the group to be replaced by Suicidal Tendencies Robert Trujillo. The events would be chronicled in the documentary Some Kind Of Monster, which showed Newsted's creation of his indie band Echobrain. In this time Jason would also join Voivod, and tour with Ozzy Osbourne, replacing Trujillo. Newsted was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica in 2009, and today fronts his own band Newsted.
Jason Newsted put in serious work and suffered through a significant amount of chaos from a band that had to keep going after a traumatic event that would end most bands. Newsted, made it possible for Metallica to weather the loss of Cliff Burton to become the highest selling metal band of all time. His impact on the band is immeasurable and his legacy is now immortalized.
Happy Birthday Jason, your story is as hard and enduring as the music you played.