On June 3, 1964, Kerry King was born. We all know he went on to become the guitarist for Slayer, but here are 18 you might not know about the now 59-year-old:
1. Kerry was born in LA to a dad who was an aircraft parts inspector and a mom who worked for the phone company.
2. Contrary to popular belief, his middle name is not âf***ing,â itâs Ray.
3. Kerry started playing guitar as a child and growing up, he listened to Venom, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
4. Kerryâs first band played Pat Boone covers.
5. As a 16-year-old, Kerry was in a band with his guitar teacher.
6. In 1981, Kerry tried out for a band. After the audition, Jeff Hanneman, who was at the venue directing people where to go,came up to him and started jamming with him, doing some IronMaidenand JudasPriest. They decided to start their own band, which of course, became Slayer.
7. For a time, Kerry lived in Arizona. Judas Priest singer Rob Halford was his neighbor.
8. In 1984, Kerry joined Dave Mustaineâs then new band, Megadeth. After playing five shows with them he left the group so he wouldnât be spread too thin with Slayer.
9. Among Kerryâs many tattoos is a black tooth on his throat, and the phrase âGod Hates Us Allâ on the inside of his arm. His first tat was the Slayer eagle above his left ear. Most of his ink was done by tattoo artist Paul Booth.
10. Kerry contributed the guitar solo to the Beastie Boysâ hit âNo Sleep till Brooklyn.â He was supposed to appear in the video for the song being pushed off a stage by a gorilla but he refused saying, âIf thereâs gonna be anyone knocking anyone offstage, itâll be me knocking the gorilla.â Thatâs what happened. Kerry also played on âFight For Your Right (To Party).â
11. Kerry recorded the guitar outro for Panteraâs 2000 song âGoddamn Electricâ in the bandâs bathroom just after Ozzfest in Dallas in July of 1999.
12. King has a collection of snakes. He also owns a reptile nursery and house called Psychotic Exotics.
13. At one point in his life, Kerry spent his down time breeding show dogs.
14. Kerry has a daughter named Shyanne Kymberlee King.
15. Kingâs favorite food is bleu cheese crusted filet mignon.
16. Kerryâs favorite movie is Se7en and his favorite TV show is Family Guy.
17. Kingâs favorite song is Panteraâs âBecoming.â
18. Kerry is a big fan of wrestling.
Happy birthday Kerry!