Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Lars Ulrich!

December is a busy month in music history:

• The 89th anniversary of Little Richard’s birth was on December 6
• R.E.M.’s Peter Buck celebrated his 66th birthday on December 6
• Yasiin Bey/Mos Def celebrated his 49th birthday on December 11
• The Time’s Morris Day celebrated his 65th birthday on December 1
• R.E.M.’s Mike Mills celebrated his 64th birthday on December 17
• The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards celebrated his 79th birthday on December 18
• The 52nd anniversary of DMX‘s birth was also on December 18
• The Black Crowes‘ and Chris Robinson Brotherhood (CRB)‘s Chris Robinsoncelebrated his 56th birthday on December 20
• Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder celebrated his 58th birthday on December 23
• The 77th anniversary of t Motörhead‘s founder, frontman — and overall badass — Lemmy Kilmister was on December 24
• Annie Lennox celebrated her 68th birthday on December 25

Metallica‘s co-founder and drummer Lars Ulrich celebrates his 59th birthday today. I’ve been a Metallica fan since the release of . . . And Justice For All back in the late 80s, and then traced my way backward and forward through their catalog. And throughout their 40 year history, Metallica have cemented a reputation for being one of the best — and loudest — bands in the entire world. During that same time, Lars Ulrich has become one of the more influential drummers in metal and thrash metal.

Happy birthday, Lars!