The Eddie Hazel & Funkadelic Story | Meet The Greatest Guitarist You've Never Heard Of 

I’m a 62-year-old white dude. In the 70s, as a preteen and teen, I pretty much ignored funk. It wasn’t on the radio I listened to. It wasn’t what my friends listen to. It seemed like a different culture. Three or four years ago I decided I should really take some time and explore funk. It wasn’t long before I heard Eddie Hazel for the first time. Wow. What I had been missing all my life? And I dug deeper. Ernie Isley. Danny Webster. Regi Hargis. There’s just some great mostly overlooked guitar players from early funk that have not gotten the recognition they deserve. And of course Eddie Hazel leads the list. I kind of expect that the same implicit bias that led me to overlook funk in my younger days also led music journalist of the era with the major music magazines to overlook them as well. Today’s guitar magazines run a lot of cover photos of Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen and Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. They all seem to get on the cover of a guitar magazine at least once a year. When’s the last time you saw Eddie Hazel on the cover of a guitar magazine? The implicit bias of the 1970s carries over into today. They still do not get the recognition they deserve. It’s great that you did this video.

What he did with, California Dreamin' is incredible.

Man, some of the pics are not Eddie pics. These guys are Garry Shider /with a cigarette/ and Kid Funkadelic with afro and black robe. Eddie is guy in white with a hat and the guy wearing stars on his shirt and in the end the one with a cap. Thank you, nice clip!

My favorite guitarist of time, my favorite member of both Funkadelic and Parliament, and one the greatest musicians of all time. His guitar work on the songs " Hit It and Quit It", and "Red Hot Mama" are personal favorites too. Also i love the songs from the album released after his passing REST IN P. Those songs were recorded with Tiki and Billy from around 1974 to 1977.

Pray my Soul from Axiom Funk ft. Eddie Hazel is an amazing solo as well. Great video brother.

In addition to being a fantastic guitarist, he was an excellent vocalist. Let Me Be, Open Our Eyes are a couple of magnificent examples of his vocal prowess.

At times it seems like Eddie Hazel is trying to make his guitar speak. A Language of emotion. His style of improvisation is really awesome. If you listen to any of his live versions of any song they're always different solos. Also one song I really enjoy that I feel no one really ever mentions or talks about is it from the bottom of my soul. The ending solo is just so cool. You can really feel something listening to it.

You had me going to listen to Crucial Conflict Hay with full complete confidence

Kudos, you know your history!!! Loved this

I Want You (She’s So Heavy), released on Eddie’s solo effort. He covered the Beatles and then demonstrated what no restraint really is. The second half of that song is, to me, his best work.

I absolutely loved watching this. Eddie is one of my favorites. Thanks for giving us your enthusiastic view, and giving me a good reason to listen to more Eddie! I would love to get a list of everything he ever played on. It gets confusing, because he is credited on albums frequently but not on a song-per-song basis. Since his playing evolved with time, it's difficult to hear what he's playing. Unless of course he's WAILING!!!

Your excitement keeps me excited brother... Thank you!!!

He was a guitarists guitarist. Soulful, phenomenal.

What a great video man very educational

GREAT VIDEO !! Eddie was AWESOME !! Thanks for for Keeping his legacy alive !! You did a great job !! I will add ''Red hot mama'' to the list of killer guitar songs by Eddie.....

Yes! RIP - The Man. Maggot Brain is top 10 solo work.

Great video. Maggot Brain was the first LP I ever bought, and Eddie Hazel is my guitar hero. I must correct you on one thing though, the song title is Can You Get 'TO' That, not Can You Get 'WITH' That.

It's always good to hear and see people giving the great Eddie Hazel props! He's definitely on my top 10 list of favorite guitar players! Eddie Hazel is a popular favorite amongst my friends and musical colleagues. He is essential in the funk-rock music genre. My homies in the funk music scene out here in L.A.consisting of FISHBONE and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS are all familiar with the genius of Eddie "Maggot Brain" Hazel. He was not only funky but also brilliant and ingenious! My favorite guitar solo by him is from the song in the MAGGOT BRAIN album called Hit and Quit It! Also, his guitar riffs from Music For My Mother from their first self-entitled album FUNKADELIC are not only funky and on time, there also stupendous! Voodoo funk for real! The only problem that I had with the dude on this video is that while he mentioned great guitar players and technicians, he mentioned a lot of white guitar players that played too fast and therefore didn't have much soul, blues, rock n roll, and funk in their sound. He forgot to mention cats like Johnny"Guitar" Watson, Albert Collins, BB KING, Buddy Guy, Pete Cosey, Tony Iommi, Angus Young, Hillel Slovak, Ernie Isley, PRINCE, John Frusciante, and John Lee Hooker. Some of these cats that I've mentioned influenced Hazel in a big way! And a few of the others were disciples of Hazel. My point is that these guitar players played with a psychedelic, fluid, bluesy, hard rock, and very funk-oriented style and sound! As Keith Richards once said: "If you can't play the blues, then you have no business playing rock n roll"!

i like this brother he knows his rock and roll ,

Eddie Hazel & Tommy Bolin are highly underrated.

Wow, just recently came across Eddie. Didn't know he was part of Funkadelic. His song "California Dreaming" is on heavy rotation for me. Thx for the information.

Eddie kicks out a kick azz solo on the funkadelic cut slide on in

I love Eddie Hazel, the past year or so I've really been getting deep into his work with Funkadelic as well as his solo stuff. Game Dames and Guitar Thangs is easily one of my favourite albums of all time. I'm also a huge Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante fan, you can hear Hendrix in Eddie Hazel, and you can hear Hazel in Frusciante's best work. Those 3 are on my mount rushmore of guitar players, totally shaped the way I play guitar. Eddie Hazel is SERIOUSLY underrated and I've got so much still to learn from his work.

Good to see the legend not be forgotten.

The version of Red Hot Mama off of Standing on The Edge of Getting it on is one of my favorites of all time. Amazing guitar work!

It's amazing that one of the Parliament Members rebutted the Funkadelic members telling them "You guys are not The Parliaments, you're our Backup Band. Then after the legal problems They had to Take on the Funkadelic Name. Talk about Karma.

I realize that Google says the man in the red leather and hat from the thumbnail on your video is actually Gary Shider from the Motor Booty Affair tour. It’s not Eddie

when so many people here talk about "Maggot Brain" few mention that alternative rocker Mike Watt covered it with Bernie Worrel and wailing guitarist J. Mascis playing Hazel's lines.

Great vid. He's in my top 5 for sure. It's sad ppl don't know who he is

Definitely know Eddie here in the Cleveland area. "Maggot Brain" has been a Cleveland tradition since 1976. Per Wikipedia: "From 1976 to 1995, disc jockey Bill "B.L.F. Bash" Freeman started a tradition of playing the original full version of "Maggot Brain" on 100.7 WMMS/Cleveland every Sunday morning at 1:30 (around "last call"). The tradition was picked up in 1987 and was carried on by Mr. Classic, host of "The Saturday Night Live House Party" featured on 98.5 WNCX/Cleveland at 11:50pm until his departure in 2019. Currently, Kenny Kidd keeps the tradition alive by playing the song at the end of his "All Request Saturday Night" show at 12am EST every Sunday morning."

This should have way more views and if your other videos are similar more subscribers. Great job.

When "Music" was "Created" and Played by "Musicians" that's why "Youngsters" today can't relate. It is what it is 😢

What a fantastic synopsis, I'm so glad you are shining the spotlight on Eddie Hazel!! My two favorite guitarists are Eddie Hazel, and Jimmy Page. I'm always trying to get people hip to Eddie. I've always felt he is one of the musicians who are touched by something that seems beyond this world, like Jimi Hendrix. I believe the biggest reason he isn't more well known is due to the segregation of radio that created "black music" and "white music" - and made rock into "white music". Funkadelic didn't quite fit into either box and suffered commercially because of it. I think they should have been rotated heavily on classic rock radio, but classic rock radio couldn't wrap it's head around Black rock. You gotta check out "Rest in P" - it's a posthumous collection encompassing, I believe, 2 different recording sessions - some tunes that were done during the Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs sessions, and a separate jam session with Buddy Miles and Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson on bass that was released in '94 as "Jams From the Heart". "'Relic Delic" is one of the most INSANE guitar pieces ever recorded, it's Eddie taking two Hendrix riffs but making them all his own and damn is it FUNKY!! It just blows my mind every time I hear it. I can't believe it's not better known, but it's out of print and was only available on Japanese import. So it's not on Spotify, but it is on RU-vid. Eddie Hazel has been quite inspirational for me and for the music of my band. I'm not a guitarist (I'm the drummer and vocalist) but I write the songs and have the vision for what they should sound like, and I've asked my guitarist sooo many times to try and give some Eddie Hazel vibes and textures...he did a great job too.

Funkadelic is the rock band every rock band aspires to be!

Thank you bro. Great info.

Excellent video, Grazzi Amicu!

That post is not Eddie Hazel 🎸 that's Gary Shider without his famous Diaper on.

Funkadelic 's funky lp was Eats It's Young. Hit It and Quit It was funky.

Did he play on Do It to Your Earhole?

nice commentary!

'Can You Get To That' is the name of the cut...

Maggot Brain is righteous music. I can listen to it all day…

Such a tragic tale of a mega talented soul that was taken in by drugs and alcohol. He shone brilliant for a short time and burned out as quickly as his rise. George Clinton wasn't happy to let him go as the new young gun Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton blew Eddie away during his audition while he was locked up. After his ouster Eddie sank deeper and deeper into depression and the substance abuse that eventually led to his death at age 42. "Maggot Brain" will always be regarded as his testament to the universe and one killer tune!

Flashlight wasn't from Funkadelic,it from the Parliament album-Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome

That’s Gary Shider in your thumbnail.

Eddie Hazel with Axiom Funk and the song Orbitron Attack has another Eddie Hazel classic guitar solo. The other people playing on this song were Bootsy, Bernie Worrel, and Jerome "Big Foot" Brailey. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZnG5OfJZpxc.html&pp=ygUXZWRkaWUgaGF6ZWwgYXhpb20gZnVuayA%3D

LOVE YOUR GREAT KNOWLEDGE ON P.F. AND EDDIE A LOT OF PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE AS WELL THAT SOME MEMBERS HAD THERE OWN ALBUMS MINE STOLEN FROM ME HOW DO YOU RATE MICHAEL HAMPTON

Michael from the group Steppenwolf.

Osmium. You gotta get Osmium. 1970 release is like the "lost" Hazel 3rd Funkadelic album. Technically, it's the 1st Parliament album! But in actual reality, it's Eddie Hazel & the early band ..right before the Maggot Brain album. Get the cd. It has the singles, B - sides and out takes. The different versions of Red Hot Mama & Loose Booty are some of the best Eddie Hazel guitar playing ever... Couldn't go to sleep knowing a real Eddie Hazel fan might not know about the work of art known as Osmium

Here's a suggestion: use accurate photos when speaking about a particular P-Funk guitarist. Especially Eddie Hazel.

Eddie was great no doubt.

Look up "Call My Baby Pussycat" classic Eddie Hazel 😉👍✊️✌️

well stated 👊🏽

Your thumbnail is a picture of Garry Shider, bro.

Just my 2 cents (and as a guitar player) but his best and most original work is on the song Good To Your Earhole

Mike " Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton should be Top 10 period.

gotta check out ‘osmium’ by parliament

It's call can you get to that.

Eddie was the same age as Michael Monarch.

"Get off your ass and Jam"off Lets take it to the stage album.. Eddie killed that solo!!!!!

I can't say it enough, Parliament Funkadelic is the greatest band of all time in the galaxy. Eddie Hazel did the greatest guitar solo ever made on Maggot Brain 🤘🏾✊🏾✌🏾🙏🏾❤

With all due respect, if you haven’t heard of Eddie Hazel, you don’t know music, thanks for enlightening the youngsters, nice Funkhistory,Funk On🤜🏾🤜🏾🤜🏾🤜🏾

I love Eddie Hazel. But also Michael Hampton of P-Funk

Great job of laying out the facts and knowledge of guitar players. I totally agree. I was fortunate enough to play with Eddie just a few months before he passed. We hung out for about six weeks and jammed for hours every day. He was the most musical person that I’ve ever experienced. He taught me so much about playing the guitar by example. The easiest way to describe it is that he didn’t play licks, he made music. According to him he was involved in all the Parliament albums. Usually playing keyboard lines and other stuff. Including Atomic Dog. He didn’t get writing credits and was suing George because of it. All I can say about that is if you heard what I heard come out from him musically I believe him There was a certain something to his note choices that I hear throughout both Funkadelic and Parliament

Great job! After Jimi Hendrix...Eddie Hazel is #2 on my guitar list. Saw Eddie perform in the 70's when P-Funk was landing the Mothership. Like all of his work. Check out "Axiom Funk"...and the song "Pray My Soul". A classic! Once again...Great job! Respect for Eddie Hazel!!

He also played on the first two Ruth Copeland albums as well as Bonnie Pointer's Free Me From My Freedom, where he plays the bass and a featured banjo solo. He was my favorite.

I bought these motorcycle gloves from a company (Indie Ridge). In order to get a warranty you had to tell them your favorite lead guitarist. I put Eddie Hazel and the owner replied that in all his years, no one ever mentioned Eddie Hazel. He then replied " Nicely Done!" I felt cool lol!

Eddie was a beautiful soul Passion beyond be leaf Which is why George Clinton Said outright Eddie hazel gave the best Jimmy Hendrix interpretation Eddie was taking flight to new grounds an being off n his own lane. 👊🏾❤️👊🏾

That first picture in the red outfit is not Eddie Hazel. That was Garry Shider.

Most definitely heard of Eddie Hazel and you're right that most people haven't heard of him. Great that you covered him, cause he shouldn't be forgotten at all.

Very good stuff! i agree: he is slept on! He's had such an influence on my playing. His cover of "I Want You" on his solo album is amazing!

He played on the goose, whatever makes my baby feel.good from the up from the down stroke album

Original funkadelic guitarist the first three funkadelic albums have Eddie's acid riffs all over them You wanna hear Eddie live check out live at Meadowbrook 1971 Check out the toys album And his solo albums games, dames guitar thangs and rest in p Eddie played on every song on standing on the verge of getting it on Best tracks Maggot brain Miss Lucifer's love Alice in my fantasies Pray my soul Red hot.mama Superstipid Coming round the mountain Lampoc boogie Hardcore jollies Qualify to satisfy I wanna know if it's good to you Friday night sug the 14 the I call my baby pussycat both versions

Please don't leave out Michael Hampton who has played Maggots Brain over a Thousand times or more 🛸🏟️ at Parliament/Funkadelic concerts. Michael Hampton is a Great Guitar Player and one of the greatest Guitarists of all time.

The original album cover of "maggot brain" was actually a skull with maggots and worms crawling all over it and the whole album was a single song a lot longer than the shortened 10 min version you referred too just FYI...

I know one thing, I just love that Funkadelic T-shirt, that’s a classic, Funkadelic 4life, continue to RIH Eddie 🙏🏾 a real master on the Ax .🎸😊

Eddie and funkadelic played on both Ruth copeland albums Sings to check out on those albums Play with fire Gimme shelter Suburban family lament Dint you wish you had what you had Your love been good to Me

Eddie and Billy Bass Nelson provided the guitar and bass on the Temptations, "Shakey Ground"...

Thanks for giving the great Eddie Hazel the respect he deserves. Maggot Brain remains unsurpassed as a guitar solo. Super Stupid, Good Thoughts/Bad Thoughts, all superb solos. How about his solo on 'Comin Round the Mountain' (With Buddy Miles on drums) My fav is his version of California Dreamin. The intro to that song still sends shivers down my spine!

Talk about Kid Funkadelic next.

That's funny. The video says Eddie Hazel, But the Thumb show Gary Shider. Any Way, Growing up Myself and other guitar playing friends knew all about Eddie ,Even before his first solo Album. I still set up my pedals to emulate his sound and playing. Although most people say I play more like Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Hazel didn't play on cosmic slop He played two songs on the let's take it to the stage album which was good to.your earhole and stiffs and thangs

My Eddie Hazel story: I was playing in an LA based band called Trulio Disgracious in the late 80’s...a P-Funk-esque ensemble that featured members of Fishbone and The Red Hot Chili Peppers amongst others, and there was a Hendrix tribute at a club in Hollywood called Club Lingerie. Eddie and original Funkadelic bassist Billy “Bass” Nelson we’re there and performed an awe inspiring rendition of Jimi’s “Machine Gun”. After they’d finished, Fishbone bassist Norwood Fisher saw me in the crowd and called me up to play on “Spanish Castle Magic”...only thing is, I didn’t own a guitar at the time (long story) so Norwood turned to Eddie Hazel, who was about to exit the stage, and asked him if I could use his. Eddie looked at him like that idea irritated the funk out of him but begrudgingly acquiesced. Now I had a bad reputation on the Hollywood music scene at that time for always breaking guitar strings, as I played really intensely and almost angrily. Eddie wasn’t aware of this and sure enough, I broke not one but two of his guitar strings. When the song we played was over I sheepishly handed his Strat back to him with the two busted strings dangling wildly. He looked at his guitar, looked up at me, looked back at his guitar and then looked at me again with an expression on his face that CLEARLY said: “You’d better vacate the space in front of me that you’re currently occupying or I’m gonna whoop your funkin’ a** muthaf**ka!!” I quickly scurried offstage and disappeared into the crowd. #truestory

Any true guitar player knows of Eddie Hazel. Any funk musicians know of Eddie. How can you mention the Stanbing on the Verge album and Eddie's work without speaking of Red Hot Momma, &the Up For The Downstroke album without mentioning his work on Whatever Makes My Baby Feel Good,& The Goose? I did laugh at ( Can you get with that) it's Can You Get To That. Oh & I believe Eddie was also on Funkadelics Let's Take It To The Stage album ( outstanding guitar work) & Eddie played on Comin Round The Mountain!

Thats not Eddie Hazel tho in your thumbnail, that's Gary Shider.

The first three Funkadelic albums are among some of my all time favs! Eddie’s guitar work, the band as a whole, the mix of genres, and the raw feel on those early albums make those albums great to me. Great video, new subscriber here!

I couldn't agree with you more, but why did you pick a picture of Garry Shider for the thumbnail?

I absolutely LOVE his song CALIFORNIA DREAMIN

What about Michael Hampton?

Well done. Important to capture subtleties of music history. Thank you.

Listen to the guitar riff of the title Bombtrack from the 1st album of Rage Against the Machine and then listen to that of Alice In My Fantaisies from Funkadelic on the album Standing on the Verge 🤘🏾Eddie Hazel man

Why is Gary Shider pictured instead of Eddie in the thumbnail?

Long live Eddie Hazel!

any true funkadelic fan already knows this...

I got to see him play when I was a kid. The last time was at St Andrews Hall in Detroit. I told my cousin yo that's Eddie ! In the early 70s of you ever saw them live the music would lift you. Great to see a going person who enthusiasticly knows what he's talking about.

The image used in the thumbnail is Garry Shider.

That's a picture of Gary Shider

Bruh.... I was in the 8th grade when I discovered the funkadelics, and it was considered risque music (more for adults). With words like..... what is soul? a joint rolled in toilet paper.I saw Eddie Hazel, Tiki Fullwood, Bill Nelson, Lucius (tawl) Ross, Bernie Worrell live in 1969 chaperoned by my aunt with me and another friend I saw the original Funkadelics band, and then George Clinton showed up he was a mad Maniac on stage he was really part of the parliament's but also frontman for the Funkadelics then I saw the Funkadelics again when I was in high school like 1971-ish when they released the album "Maggot Brain"Eddie came out there with the band Funkadelics barefoot and opened up with "Super Stupid" blew my friggin mind.

The pictures your showing are now not eddie hazel like on your cover your showing Garry shider and another clip your showing Mike Hampton and ur calling them eddie other than that you did an outstanding job.

2'11 and 8'45 This is Garry Shider not Eddie Hazel.