Eddie Hazel
Encyclopedia
Edward Earl "Eddie" Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was a guitarist in early funk
music in the United States
who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic
. Hazel was a posthumous inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic
.
because his mother, Grace Cook, wanted her son to grow up in an environment without the pressures of drugs
and crime
that she felt pervaded New York City
. Hazel occupied himself from a young age by playing a guitar
, given to him as a Christmas
present by his older brother. Hazel also sang
in church. At age 12, Hazel met Billy "Bass" Nelson, and the pair quickly became close friends and began performing, soon adding drummer Harvey McGee to the mix.
, a Plainfield-based doo wop band headed by George Clinton
, had a hit record with "(I Wanna) Testify." Clinton recruited a backing band for a tour, hiring Nelson as bassist, who in turn recommended Hazel as guitarist. Hazel was in Newark, New Jersey
working with George Blackwell and couldn't be reached. After Nelson returned from the tour, he tried to recruit Hazel. His mother at first vetoed the idea since Hazel was only seventeen, but Clinton and Nelson worked together to change her mind.
In late 1967, The Parliaments went on tour with both Nelson and Hazel. In Philadelphia
Hazel met and befriended Tiki Fulwood
, who quickly replaced The Parliaments' drummer. Nelson, Hazel and Fulwood became the backbone of Funkadelic
, which was originally the backup band for The Parliaments, only to later become an independent touring group when legal difficulties forced Clinton to temporarily abandon the name "Parliaments"
The switch to Funkadelic was complete with the addition of Tawl Ross
and Bernie Worrell
(rhythm guitar
and keyboards
, respectively). Funkadelic
(1970), Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow (1970) and Maggot Brain
(1971) were the first three albums, released within two years. All three albums prominently featured Hazel's guitar work.
The third album's title song, "Maggot Brain
", consists of a ten-minute guitar solo
by Hazel. Clinton reportedly told Hazel during the recording session to imagine he had been told his mother was dead, but then learned that it was not true. Music critic Greg Tate
described it as Funkadelic's A Love Supreme
. In 2008, Rolling Stone cited this as number 60 on its list of 100 greatest "guitar songs" of all time.
Nelson and Hazel officially quit Funkadelic
in late 1971 over financial disputes with Clinton, though Hazel contributed to the group sporadically over the next several years. The albums America Eats Its Young
(1972) and Cosmic Slop
(1973) featured only marginal input from Hazel. Instead, Hazel began working with The Temptations
(along with Nelson), appearing on 1990 (1973) and A Song for You
(1975).
For the 1974 Funkadelic
album Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
, Hazel co-wrote all of the album's songs. On six of those songs the songwriting credit was in the name of Grace Cook, Hazel's mother. In 1974, Hazel was indicted for assaulting an airline stewardess and an air marshal, along with a drug possession charge. While he was in jail, Clinton recruited Michael Hampton
as the new lead guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic
to replace Hazel.
In the next several years, Hazel appeared occasionally on Parliament-Funkadelic
albums, although his guitar work was rarely featured. One song that featured Hazel's lead guitar is "Comin' Round the Mountain" on Hardcore Jollies
(1976). In 1977, Hazel recorded a "solo" album, Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs, with support from other members of Parliament-Funkadelic, including vocals from The Brides of Funkenstein
. He was completely absent from One Nation Under a Groove
(1978), Funkadelic's most commercially successful album. Hazel made another prominent appearance in "Man's Best Friend" on the George Clinton album Computer Games
(1982), as well as the track "Pumping It Up" from the P-Funk All Stars album Urban Dancefloor Guerillas
.
On December 23, 1992, Hazel died from internal bleeding and liver failure. "Maggot Brain" was played at his funeral.
Jams From the Heart (which Rhino Records later added as bonus material to its rerelease of Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs), 1994's Rest in P
and 2006's Eddie Hazel At Home.
Other recordings by Hazel have appeared on albums by other musicians. Several albums produced by Bill Laswell
, including Funkcronomicon
(released under the name Axiom Funk, 1995) have featured Hazel's guitar. Bootsy Collins
has also incorporated recordings of Hazel in some of his recent releases, for example, "Good Night Eddie" on Blasters of the Universe
. The band Ween
recorded a tribute to him called "A Tear for Eddie" on their album Chocolate And Cheese
. There is an image of Hazel on the back of Primal Scream
's album Give Out But Don't Give Up
.
Hazel has been featured on a number of lists of greatest guitarists of all time. He was 43 on the list of Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time and was ranked at 88 in a similar list by Uncut Magazine.
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
music in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
. Hazel was a posthumous inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
.
Early life
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950, Hazel grew up in Plainfield, New JerseyPlainfield, New Jersey
Plainfield is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population increased to a record high of 49,808....
because his mother, Grace Cook, wanted her son to grow up in an environment without the pressures of drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
and crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
that she felt pervaded New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Hazel occupied himself from a young age by playing a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, given to him as a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
present by his older brother. Hazel also sang
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
in church. At age 12, Hazel met Billy "Bass" Nelson, and the pair quickly became close friends and began performing, soon adding drummer Harvey McGee to the mix.
Career
In 1967, The ParliamentsThe Parliaments
The Parliaments were a doo-wop quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, formed in the back room of a barbershop in the late 1950s and named after the cigarette brand. After some early personnel changes their lineup solidified with George Clinton, Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas...
, a Plainfield-based doo wop band headed by George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, had a hit record with "(I Wanna) Testify." Clinton recruited a backing band for a tour, hiring Nelson as bassist, who in turn recommended Hazel as guitarist. Hazel was in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
working with George Blackwell and couldn't be reached. After Nelson returned from the tour, he tried to recruit Hazel. His mother at first vetoed the idea since Hazel was only seventeen, but Clinton and Nelson worked together to change her mind.
In late 1967, The Parliaments went on tour with both Nelson and Hazel. In Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
Hazel met and befriended Tiki Fulwood
Tiki Fulwood
Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood was a drummer for the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic...
, who quickly replaced The Parliaments' drummer. Nelson, Hazel and Fulwood became the backbone of Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, which was originally the backup band for The Parliaments, only to later become an independent touring group when legal difficulties forced Clinton to temporarily abandon the name "Parliaments"
The switch to Funkadelic was complete with the addition of Tawl Ross
Tawl Ross
Lucius "Tawl" Ross was the rhythm guitarist for Funkadelic from 1968 to 1971 and played on their first three albums. He left the band in 1971 soon after a debilitating experience with LSD. He moved back to North Carolina and dropped out of the music scene, but resurfaced in 1995 after a nearly...
and Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
(rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, respectively). Funkadelic
Funkadelic (album)
Funkadelic was the debut album by the American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1970 on Westbound Records. The album showcased a strong bass and rhythm section, as well as lengthy jam sessions, future trademarks of the band...
(1970), Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow (1970) and Maggot Brain
Maggot Brain
Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1971 on Westbound Records. The album incorporates musical elements of psychedelia, rock, gospel, and soul music, with significant variation between each track. Pitchfork Media named it the seventeenth best...
(1971) were the first three albums, released within two years. All three albums prominently featured Hazel's guitar work.
The third album's title song, "Maggot Brain
Maggot Brain (song)
"Maggot Brain" is a song by the band Funkadelic. It appears as the lead track on their 1971 album of the same name.The original recording of the song, over ten minutes long, features little more than a spoken introduction and a much-praised extended guitar solo by Eddie Hazel. Music critic Greg...
", consists of a ten-minute guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
by Hazel. Clinton reportedly told Hazel during the recording session to imagine he had been told his mother was dead, but then learned that it was not true. Music critic Greg Tate
Greg Tate
Greg Tate is an American author, focusing on African-American cultural theory and writing. He was acknowledged by The Source magazine as one of the 'Godfathers of Hip-hop Journalism'....
described it as Funkadelic's A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme is a studio album recorded by John Coltrane's quartet in December 1964 and released by Impulse! Records in February 1965...
. In 2008, Rolling Stone cited this as number 60 on its list of 100 greatest "guitar songs" of all time.
Nelson and Hazel officially quit Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
in late 1971 over financial disputes with Clinton, though Hazel contributed to the group sporadically over the next several years. The albums America Eats Its Young
America Eats Its Young
America Eats Its Young is the fourth album by Funkadelic, released in 1972. This was the first album to include the whole of the House Guests, including Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, Chicken Gunnels, Rob McCollough and Kash Waddy...
(1972) and Cosmic Slop
Cosmic Slop
Cosmic Slop is the fifth studio album by Funkadelic, released in 1973 on Westbound Records. While it has been favorably reevaluated by critics long after its original release, the album was a commercial failure, producing no charting singles, and making only #112 on the Billboard albums...
(1973) featured only marginal input from Hazel. Instead, Hazel began working with The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
(along with Nelson), appearing on 1990 (1973) and A Song for You
A Song for You (Temptations album)
A Song for You is a 1975 album by The Temptations. The album features two R&B number-one hits, "Happy People" , and "Shakey Ground", one of the group's final R&B number-one songs....
(1975).
For the 1974 Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
album Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On is the sixth studio album by Funkadelic, released on Westbound Records, released in 1974.On this album, the lyrics generally take a backseat to the music and the jamming. It is one of the most popular Funkadelic albums among fans, and considered an essential...
, Hazel co-wrote all of the album's songs. On six of those songs the songwriting credit was in the name of Grace Cook, Hazel's mother. In 1974, Hazel was indicted for assaulting an airline stewardess and an air marshal, along with a drug possession charge. While he was in jail, Clinton recruited Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton is a funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic....
as the new lead guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
to replace Hazel.
In the next several years, Hazel appeared occasionally on Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
albums, although his guitar work was rarely featured. One song that featured Hazel's lead guitar is "Comin' Round the Mountain" on Hardcore Jollies
Hardcore Jollies
Hardcore Jollies is the ninth studio album by the funk band Funkadelic, released on October 29, 1976 by Warner Bros. Records, their first album to be issued on a major label...
(1976). In 1977, Hazel recorded a "solo" album, Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs, with support from other members of Parliament-Funkadelic, including vocals from The Brides of Funkenstein
The Brides of Funkenstein
The Brides of Funkenstein was a funk musical group originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry.-History:Previously background singers for Sly Stone, Mabry and Silva joined the P-Funk collective in the mid-1970s. George Clinton named the group...
. He was completely absent from One Nation Under a Groove
One Nation Under a Groove
In Europe, the Bonus-EP was replaced by a bonus 12" 45rpm mini-album containing the 3 EP tracks on one side and an extended version of "One Nation Under a Groove" on the other.-Personnel:Funkadelic Main Invasion Force :...
(1978), Funkadelic's most commercially successful album. Hazel made another prominent appearance in "Man's Best Friend" on the George Clinton album Computer Games
Computer Games (album)
Computer Games is a 1982 album by funk musician George Clinton, released on Capitol Records. Though technically Clinton's first "solo" album, the record featured most of the same personnel who had appeared on recent albums by Parliament and Funkadelic, both formally disbanded by Clinton in 1981...
(1982), as well as the track "Pumping It Up" from the P-Funk All Stars album Urban Dancefloor Guerillas
Urban Dancefloor Guerillas
Urban Dancefloor Guerillas is the debut album of funk band the P-Funk All-Stars, released in 1983 on Uncle Jam Records. The album features an amalgmation of various alumni from both Parliament and Funkadelic, which were disbanded by 1981...
.
On December 23, 1992, Hazel died from internal bleeding and liver failure. "Maggot Brain" was played at his funeral.
Legacy
Three collections of unreleased recordings have been released posthumously: The 1994 four-song EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Jams From the Heart (which Rhino Records later added as bonus material to its rerelease of Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs), 1994's Rest in P
Rest in P
Rest in P is a 1994 posthumous album release by Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel. The album was released by P-Vine records in Japan and is composed of previously unreleased tracks recorded by Eddie Hazel between 1975 and 1977...
and 2006's Eddie Hazel At Home.
Other recordings by Hazel have appeared on albums by other musicians. Several albums produced by Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, including Funkcronomicon
Funkcronomicon
Funkcronomicon is a 1995 various artists collection of tracks produced by Bill Laswell under the name Axiom Funk, after Laswell's associated record label. It is a 2-CD set that was released by Island Records...
(released under the name Axiom Funk, 1995) have featured Hazel's guitar. Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
has also incorporated recordings of Hazel in some of his recent releases, for example, "Good Night Eddie" on Blasters of the Universe
Blasters of the Universe
Blasters of the Universe is a 1993 2 CD set by Bootsy's New Rubber Band. The album was first released on the P-Vine record label and then by Rykodisc in the U.S. and the UK....
. The band Ween
Ween
Ween is an American alternative rock group. They formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when central members Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in an eighth grade typing class. Ween has a large cult underground fanbase despite being generally unknown in American pop music...
recorded a tribute to him called "A Tear for Eddie" on their album Chocolate And Cheese
Chocolate and Cheese
Chocolate and Cheese is Ween's fourth studio album, originally released by Elektra Records in 1994. It was the first Ween album to eschew the crude four-track home recordings of their first three albums and utilize a professional recording studio...
. There is an image of Hazel on the back of Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
's album Give Out But Don't Give Up
Give Out but Don't Give Up
Give Out But Don't Give Up is a 1994 album by Primal Scream. It was the follow-up to the successful Screamadelica.-Track listing:All tracks written by Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes and Robert Young, unless noted.# "Jailbird" - 3:46# "Rocks" - 3:37...
.
Hazel has been featured on a number of lists of greatest guitarists of all time. He was 43 on the list of Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time and was ranked at 88 in a similar list by Uncut Magazine.
Discography
- Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs (1977), Warner Bros.Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
- Jams From the Heart (1994), JDCJDC RecordsJDC Records was an important record distributor during the golden years of dance music . It was originally located in San Pedro, California and owned by Jim and Dale Callon The company name came from their initials, JDC. They distributed world-wide and carried many independent labels...
- EP - Rest in PRest in PRest in P is a 1994 posthumous album release by Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel. The album was released by P-Vine records in Japan and is composed of previously unreleased tracks recorded by Eddie Hazel between 1975 and 1977...
(1994), P-VineP-Vine RecordsP-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi... - At Home (With Family) (2006), Eddie Hazel