Eddie Hazel

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地区: United States of America 美国

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by Jason BirchmeierSomewhat of a mythical figure, original Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel pioneered an innovative funk-metal sound in the early 70s, best exemplified on his mammoth classic instrumental jam Maggot Brain. This mythological status arises from his brief, mysterious era of productivity, a shadowy three-album cycle capped by Maggot Brain that came to a close as Hazels notorious drug problems began to haunt him, resulting in personal disputes with George Clinton, a jail sentence, and ultimately his slow death to liver failure. Yet even though Hazels notable accomplishments are few — reserved mostly to the first three Funkadelic albums, a 1977 solo album, and legendary live performances — these accomplishments were highly influential. At the time, Hazel seemed a clear successor to the deceased Jimi Hendrix, one of the few black guitar players merging an acid rock approach with an R&B aesthetic. Furthermore, Hazel took things a step further, integrating a heavy dose of funk into his fiery guitar work as well, setting the precedent for successive Parliament/Funkadelic guitarists, as well as later generations of funk-metal guitarists. Though born in Brooklyn on April 10, 1950, Eddie Hazel grew up outside the city in Plainfield, NJ, since his mother, Grace Cook, didnt want her son growing up in a negative, drug-littered environment (though, ironically, Plainfield wasnt much better in regard to drugs). While his mother commuted back and forth to Brooklyn to work as a silk presser, the young Eddie spent most of his time playing the guitar his brother had bought for him as a Christmas gift. In addition to his self-trained guitar playing, Eddie also sang in church and eventually met Billy Bass Nelson when he was only 12 — the two instantly began playing together, teaching each other to sing and play guitar. Once they met up with yet another local youth, drummer Harvey McGee, they began jamming together as a trio, trying to learn all the early-60s Motown hits.In 1967, another much more established Plainfield group, the Parliaments, had suddenly found themselves experiencing a considerable level of success and wanted to mount a tour. They needed a backing band, though, and looked to Nelson for help. Unfortunately, Hazel was nowhere to be found, supposedly in Newark, NJ, working with producer George Blackwell. When Nelson returned from a short summer tour in August, the first thing he did was hunt down Hazel in hopes of beefing up the Parliaments rhythm section. There was one problem, though — Eddies mother. She wasnt crazy about the idea of letting her 17-year-old son head out on a tour with George Clintons ensemble of wild musicians. Yet after a little begging and some convincing on both Clintons and Nelsons part, Ms. Cook agreed to let her son follow his ambitions. The Parliaments went back on tour in September 1967, with Nelson and Hazel anchoring the rhythm section. In Philadelphia during a show at the Uptown Theater, Hazel met Tiki Fulwood, who was the Uptowns house drummer. The two instantly became close friends, going out partying after the show together. Furthermore, since both Nelson and Hazel were unhappy with their drummer at the time, they argued with Clinton about replacing the Parliaments inadequate drummer with Fulwood. By the time they left Philadelphia, the Nelson/Hazel/Fulwood rhythm section was finally in place, a tight squad that spawned Funkadelic.In essence, Funkadelic was just a continuation of the Parliaments. With group member Calvin Simon gone off to the war, and with Hazel and Fulwood now in the group, the Parliaments abandoned their uniforms, donned extravagant costumes or street clothes, and began playing increasingly rock-influenced music driven by Hazels dirty fuzz tone and Hendrix-influenced acid rock approach. The change to Funkadelic then became official with the introduction of Tawl Ross on rhythm guitar and Bernie Worrell on keyboards, resulting in a series of three landmark albums: the groups self-titled debut (1970), Free Your Mind...and Your Ass Will Follow (1970), and Maggot Brain (1971). Maggot Brain ended up being one of the groups more essential albums, thanks primarily to Hazels guitar playing. In particular, the title track has become his legacy, an epic instrumental piece fashioned as an emotive eulogy that has become a perennial staple of the groups live shows over the decades. The songs origins are supposedly rooted in a recording session where Clinton told Hazel to envision the saddest thought possible, his mothers death, and use that vision as inspiration. Other myths involve Hazels voracious drug intake, a characteristic that led to the nickname Maggot Brain. Either way, the song made Hazel famous and secured his legacy for successive decades.Unfortunately, following Hazels most promising moment and greatest accomplishment to date, his career began descending quickly. Its no secret that the early Funkadelic lineup suffered through drug problems during this early-70s era, as first Ross was ousted from the group for his increasing LSD-related unreliability. Soon after, Clinton became equally frustrated with Hazels and Fulwoods growing drug abuse, often cutting off their pay so that they wouldnt go spend it on illicit substances. These problems most obviously came to light on the follow-up to Maggot Brain, 1972s America Eats Its Young, where Hazels role was minimal. Furthermore, the guitarist began working with fellow Detroiters the Temptations instead, contributing guitar and songwriting to Zoom (1973) and Song for You (1975).Hazels drug abuse problems finally caught up with him in 1974, with an indictment resulting from an airline incident that involved him assaulting a stewardess. In his absence, Clinton integrated the potent duo of Gary Shider and Ron Brylowski into Funkadelic, and later Michael Hampton (a young guitar prodigy who caught the bands attention by playing a note-for-note rendition of Maggot Brain at a party in Cleveland). Hazel returned from exile for 1974s Standing on the Verge of Getting It On, with strong guitar contributions and co-writing credits with George Clinton on several songs, but by the next album (Lets Take It to the Stage), Hazel was taking a secondary role to the new roster of Parliament/Funkadelic guitarists.While Hazels role in Parliament/Funkadelic had diminished by the late 70s, Clinton did grant him the opportunity to record a solo album for Warner Brothers, 1977s Games, Dames and Guitar Things. The album featured covers of California Dreamin and I Want You (Shes So Heavy), along with a few songs written by Clinton and Bootsy Collins. The nine songs all prominently feature Hazels lead guitar work, along with a considerable amount of backing vocals courtesy of the Brides of Funkenstein. Incredibly rare and highly collectable for years as a vinyl-only release, the album remains one of the better P-Funk albums of the late 70s, highlighted by its guitar-heavy sound.Following this album, Hazel continued to play with Clinton in successive years, but his contributions were never major, and he slowly descended further into oblivion, eventually suffering from chronic stomach problems and ultimately dying on December 23, 1992, from internal bleeding and liver failure. In the wake of his death, two posthumous collections of unreleased material were released. Jams From the Heart surfaced first in 1994, a brief four-song EP that eventually was eclipsed by a second import release, 2000s Rest in P. This latter collection compiled the material from Jams From the Heart along with a few other leftovers dug up from the vaults. In 2004 Rhino Homemade finally reissued Games, Dames and Guitar Things, appending the Jams From the Heart EP as an added bonus.

Eddie Hazel

艺人介绍

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