Which Funkadelic guitarist is credited with the 10-minute solo on “Maggot Brain”? Eddie Hazel. His searing performance is the defining feature of Funkadelic’s 1971 title track, an unusually spacious recording built around an extended electric-guitar improvisation.
Hazel was a teenage recruit who became part of Funkadelic’s core alongside bassist Billy Nelson, drummer Tiki Fulwood and keyboardist Bernie Worrell. George Clinton reportedly gave Hazel an emotional scenario before the take: play as though he had learned that his mother had died, then discovered she was still alive. The result was recorded in one take, with fuzz, wah-wah and studio echo shaping its mournful, psychedelic sound.
The original track runs about 10 minutes and 20 seconds, though alternate edits and later interpretations can create confusion. Michael Hampton, who later replaced Hazel as Funkadelic’s lead guitarist, recorded his own live interpretation, but he did not play the original studio solo. Jimi Hendrix was a major influence on Hazel, not the performer on this recording.