He is not well known in rock history, there are precious few photos or footage of him on the net, he had a habit of not being present when someone was recording a show and the chances are no-one one has ever really heard of him. but he ranks alongside Hendrix as one of the greatest Rock guitarists of all time. please read on to learn more and listen to some music............ Eddie Hazel died On December the 23rd ,1992 in relative obscurity at age 42 from liver problems stemming from alcoholand internal bleeding. In his 25 years as a professional artist he recorded and played extensively with the band Funkadelic and wrote and recorded wiith The Temptations in the mid 70's. He was arrested for attacking a stewardess and thrown in prison and the chances are you'd be on the receiving end of his very dry sense of humour but this all overshadows the fact that he produced arguably some of the greatest rock guitar music ever. If anyone has heard of him, it is usually for the song 'Maggot Brain', from where he gets his nickname - this spaced out paen to cosmic order was inspired by George Clinton asking him to think of the saddest thing he could before he played. Indeed, he frequently used to get teased for crying when he played. He had soul written all over him. - The saddest thing turned out to be the thought of his mother dying, he was very close to her and even used her name, Grace Cook on songwriting credits when there were legal problems with him being involved in more than one contract. But this was his way - he loved playing and after the early 70's would only turn up sporadically with Funkadelic.,You couldn't pin him down. prhaps this is the nature ofchasing the muse.
Anyway. This is a kind of memorial to him but also to let others hear for themselves.
I believe his greatest stuff is on the song, 'Vital Juices' (7 mb) from 1975 (he was only 25 when he scorched through this extended jam) , it was a seque out from the Song Red Hot Mama - as was Funkadelic's way - they ued jam for hours to get warmed up and it sounds like this came from one such session - it is arguably the most focussed piece of riffage come soloing ever committed to tape (IMO) - more focuessed than Hendrix with the flow of The Isley Brothers with a growling guitar kept barely in check. Other highlights from a 'wow' perspective include the acid-drenched 'Free Your mind and Your ass will follow' from the album of the same name - the original Funkadelic line up from 1970, get off your ass and jam.mp3 (3MB) from '76 things on his own Warner Brothers album 'Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs'
Particularly affecting is his cover of California Dreaming and you can hear his Soulful voice in full effect.
He also wrote and played guitar on most of the Funkadelic album 'Standing On The verge of getting on'.
He died just after going fishing with some old friends - because he always maintained contact with the guys from Funkadelic - in fact he was getting himself straight and getting back on the road with the group at around this time. who knows how many more people would have been exposed to this guitar player whose want it was to stay in the background and let the younger bucks take the limelight.
But you can see the admiration in Clinton's eyes, when Eddie took it to the stage on the odd occasions he joined the band in later years. This is one person's opinion and it would be naive to think he wasn't influenced by jimi, but credit where its due - after all it isn't just anybody who could wring a sound like that from a piece of wood with strings.
Memorial website myspace site maintained in collaboration with his widow, Brenda |
