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
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. 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. In 2008, Rolling Stone cited this as number 60 on its list of 100 greatest "guitar songs" of all time. 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. 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 (1973) and
A Song for You (1975). along with a drug possession charge. While Hazel was in jail, Clinton recruited
Michael Hampton as the new lead guitarist for
Parliament-Funkadelic. 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 (1982),
Death On December 23, 1992, Hazel died from
internal bleeding and
liver failure. "Maggot Brain" was played at his funeral. Eddie Hazel is buried at Hillside Cemetery in
Scotch Plains,
New Jersey. ==Legacy==