Editing Eddie Hazel (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
Born in [[Brooklyn, New York]] in 1950, Hazel grew up in [[Plainfield, New Jersey]] 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 [[singing|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.<ref name=":0" />

===Career===
In 1967, [[the Parliaments]], a Plainfield-based [[doo wop]] band headed by [[George Clinton (funk musician)|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.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Bowman|first=Rob|title=''Liner notes to'' Music for Your Mother|year=1992}}</ref> Hazel was in [[Newark, New Jersey]], working with George Blackwell and could not 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.<ref name=":0" />

In late 1967, the Parliaments went on tour with both Nelson and Hazel. In [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|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".<ref name=":3" />

The switch to Funkadelic was complete with the addition of [[Tawl Ross]] and [[Bernie Worrell]] ([[rhythm guitar]] and [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]], respectively). ''[[Funkadelic (album)|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.<ref name=":1" />

The third album's title song, "[[Maggot Brain (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 had just died while playing the first half of the solo; and to imagine he'd just been told she was still alive while playing the second half.<ref name=Tate/> Music critic [[Greg Tate]] described it as Funkadelic's ''[[A Love Supreme]]''.<ref name=Tate>{{cite news |last=Tate |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Tate |title=Eddie Hazel, 1950–1992 |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=January 12, 1993 }}</ref> In 2008, Rolling Stone cited this as number 60 on its list of 100 greatest "guitar songs" of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone  |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531001143/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/26 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 31, 2008 |access-date=2008-06-07 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowman|first=Rob|title=''Liner notes to'' Live: Meadowbrook, Rochester, Michigan – 12th September 1971.|year=1996}}</ref> 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 (The Temptations album)|1990]]'' (1973) and ''[[A Song for You (Temptations album)|A Song for You]]'' (1975).<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name=Tate/> Hazel also had a significant presence as arranger and lead guitarist on the same year's Parliament album, ''[[Up For The Down Stroke]]''.  In 1974, Hazel was indicted for assaulting an airline stewardess and an air marshal,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zBwFHNeUF3UC&dq=%22Eddie+Hazel%22+dead+OR+death+OR+died&pg=PA236 Funk: the music, the people, and the rhythm of the one] By Rickey Vincent p. 273.</ref> along with a drug possession charge. While Hazel was in jail, Clinton recruited [[Michael Hampton]] as the new lead guitarist for [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].<ref name=Tate/>

In the next several years, Hazel appeared occasionally on [[Parliament-Funkadelic]] albums, although his guitar work was rarely featured.<ref name=":0" /> 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]].<ref name=Tate/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rhino Records|title=''Liner notes to'' Games, Dames, and Guitar Thangs|year=2004}}</ref> 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 (album)|Computer Games]]'' (1982),<ref name=Tate/> as well as the track "Pumping It Up" from the [[P-Funk All Stars]] album ''[[Urban Dancefloor Guerillas]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/urban-dancefloor-guerillas-99337/|title=Urban Dancefloor Guerillas|last=Miller|first=Debby|date=1984-03-15|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>

===Death===
On December 23, 1992, Hazel died from [[internal bleeding]] and [[liver failure]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2011/07/icons-of-rock-eddie-hazel/|title=Icons of Rock: Eddie Hazel|date=2011-07-09|website=Consequence of Sound|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> "Maggot Brain" was played at his funeral.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIEjkWXZdrMC&pg=PA139 |title= Funk |first=Dave |last=Thompson |year= 2001 |page=141|publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn= 9780879306298 }}</ref>

Eddie Hazel is buried at Hillside Cemetery in
[[Scotch Plains]], [[New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://rockandrollroadmap.com/places/burial-sites/north-east-u-s-burial-sites/hillside-cemetery-buried-here-eddie-hazel/ | title=Buried Here - Eddie Hazel, Founding Member of "Parliament/Funkadelic" | date=19 December 2015 }}</ref>