Editing Eddie Hazel

{{Short description|American guitarist (1950–1992)}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name             = Eddie Hazel
| image            = Ehpalladium.jpg
| caption          = Eddie Hazel performing with the P-Funk All Stars at the Palladium in New York City on June 25, 1991. Photo by Aldo Mauro
| background       = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name       = Edward Earl Hazel
| alias            = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1950|4|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1992|12|23|1950|4|10}}
| death_place      = [[Plainfield, New Jersey]]
| origin           = 
| instrument       = 
| genre            = {{Hlist|[[Funk]]|[[Soul music|soul]]|[[psychedelic rock]]|[[psychedelic soul]]}}
| occupation       = 
| years_active     = 1967&ndash;1992
| label            = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], [[JDC Records|JDC]], [[P-Vine Records|P-Vine]], [[Casablanca Records|Casablanca]], [[Westbound Records|Westbound]], [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[Columbia Records|CBS]], [[Island Records|Island]]
| associated_acts  = [[Funkadelic]], [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]],<br />[[The Temptations]], [[The Parliaments]], [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]], Axiom Funk
| website          = 
}}

'''Edward Earl Hazel''' (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early [[funk]] music who played lead guitar with [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eddie-hazel-mn0000140816/biography|title=Eddie Hazel|last=Birchmeier|first=Jason|website=Allmusic|access-date=29 August 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.fender.com/articles/artists/one-track-mind-the-passion-of-eddie-hazel-and-funkadelics-maggot-brain|title=One-Track Mind: The Passion of Eddie Hazel and Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain'|last=Houghtaling|first=Adam B.|website=Fender|access-date=29 August 2019}}</ref> Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/parliament-funkadelic|title=PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC|website=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|access-date=29 August 2019}}</ref> His ten-minute guitar solo in the Funkadelic song "[[Maggot Brain (song)|Maggot Brain]]" is regarded as "one of the greatest solos of all time on any instrument".<ref name=reverb>{{cite web |website=[[Reverb.com]] |access-date=May 18, 2020 |url=https://reverb.com/news/the-essential-gear-of-parliament-slash-funkadelic |title=The Essential Gear of Parliament-Funkadelic |first=Christopher |last=DeArcangelis |date=January 6, 2017}}</ref> In 2023, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked Hazel at no. 29 in its list of 250 of the greatest guitarists of all time.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2023-10-13 |title=The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-guitarists-1234814010/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

==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>

==Legacy==
Three collections of unreleased recordings have been released posthumously: The 1994 four-song [[Extended play|EP]] ''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''.<ref name=":0" />

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]]''.<ref name=":4" />

[[Ween]] recorded a tribute to him called "A Tear for Eddie" on their album ''[[Chocolate And Cheese]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2012/03/06/the-psych-funk-genius-of-eddie-hazel|title=The psych-funk genius of Eddie Hazel|last=Margasak|first=Peter|website=Chicago Reader|date=6 March 2012 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> There is an image of Hazel on the back of [[Primal Scream]]'s album ''[[Give Out But Don't Give Up]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jenkins|first=Mark|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/06/10/primal-screams-funk-a-ridiculous-release/1b0b469a-8c2f-4843-87fc-c6b12c66ba0b/|title=Priman Scream's Funk a Ridiculous Release|date=1994-06-10|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> [[John Frusciante]] recorded a tribute to Hazel's "Maggot Brain" on his 2009 album ''[[The Empyrean]]'' in the nine-minute-long "Before the Beginning".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://invisible-movement.net/press/20090125-thewattfrompedro/5 |title=Watt from Pedro Show |date=January 25, 2009 |publisher=Invisible Movement–John Frusciante Unofficial Site |page=5 |access-date=April 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117074057/http://invisible-movement.net/press/20090125-thewattfrompedro/5 |archive-date=November 17, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Nick Cave]] named him one of his favorite guitarists.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=8 July 2020|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/nick-cave-favourite-guitarists-list/|title=From Pink Floyd to King Crimson: Nick Cave names his favourite guitarists of all time|publication-date=6 July 2020|website=Faroutmagazine.co.uk}}</ref>

==Sound, guitars, equipment==
Hazel played in the vein of [[Jimi Hendrix]] and added "the aggressive rock and roll sound of Jimi Hendrix into the funky world of James Brown and Sly Stone". He used much reverb and was a "razor sharp" rhythm player, besides an exceptional soloist<ref name=reverb/> with "fuzz-drenched leads".<ref name=premier>{{cite news|url=https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/23907-parliament-funkadelic-a-funk-guitar-roundtable |magazine=[[Premier Guitar]] |access-date=May 18, 2020 |title=Parliament Funkadelic: A Funk Guitar Roundtable |first=Tzvi |last=Gluckin |date=March 8, 2016}}</ref> He played a variety of guitars including Gibsons, but is best known as a player of [[Fender Stratocaster]]s.<ref name=reverb/> His typical setup included a [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall 100-watt]] amplifier,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg838EcECUwC&pg=PT51 |page=112 | title=Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time!: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine |editor1-first=Jeff |editor1-last=Kitts |editor2-first=Brad |editor2-last=Tolinski |publisher=Hal Leonard |year=2002 |isbn=9780634046193}}</ref> [[MXR Phase 90]] phaser, [[Echoplex]], [[Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone]], and a [[Dunlop Cry Baby]] wah, and in his later days with P-funk a [[Music Man (company)|Music Man HD-130]] amplifier.<ref name=reverb/>

George Clinton recalled that when they were moving from Motown/doo wop toward a more rock and roll oriented sound, they were looking for a heavier, European sound, and he got Hazel a [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall stack]] (with an 8x12 cabinet), and a Stratocaster (to replace a big-body [[Gretsch]]). Clinton noted, though, that it didn't matter what Hazel played--"it could be a Kay or anything--he could make it sound the same". Asked about effects, Clinton said, "Eddie started right out learning the pedals—the wah wah, the Big Muff, and phasers and shit. We bought all the gadgets in the world".<ref name=premier/>

==Discography==
{{see also|Parliament discography|Funkadelic discography}}

'''Solo recordings'''

*''[[Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs]]'' (1977), [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
*''A Night for Jimi Hendrix'' (Live At "Lingerie Club", Hollywood, 1990) [feat. Krunchy]
*''Jams From the Heart'' (1994), [[JDC Records|JDC]] - [[EP (format)|EP]]
*''[[Rest in P]]'' (1994), [[P-Vine Records|P-Vine]]
*''At Home (With Family)'' (2006), Eddie Hazel
*''The Basement Rehearsals'' (feat. Krunchy) (2014)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p18165}}
*{{Discogs artist}}
* {{Find a Grave|12512846|Eddie Hazel}}
{{P-Funk}}
{{The Parliaments}}
{{Funkadelic}}
{{Parliament}}
{{1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazel, Eddie}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American guitarists]]
[[Category:American funk guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American rhythm and blues guitarists]]
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American soul guitarists]]
[[Category:Deaths from bleeding]]
[[Category:American lead guitarists]]
[[Category:P-Funk members]]
[[Category:Musicians from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:African-American rock musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:Guitarists from New York City]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:P-Vine Records artists]]
[[Category:Psychedelic soul musicians]]
[[Category:African-American songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver failure]]