Songfacts®:

• Funkadelic leader George Clinton explains maggot brain as a state of mind, transcending the body and enjoying the expansive freedoms of The Funk. Achieving maggot brain is often accomplished with the help of narcotics.
• This song was recorded in one take. Clinton surrounded Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel with a massive amount of amps. He told Eddie to first play like he just heard that his mother had died, then to play like his mom was actually still alive. The result was one of the best-known funk guitar solos of all time. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Dan - Albany, NY
• Other musicians were playing on this track, but Clinton faded them out to focus on Hazel's guitar.
• The only lyrics are spoken at the beginning of the song before Hazel's solo takes off. There is also a brief spoken introduction to the song. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Edna - Madrid, Spain, for above 2
• Guitar World ranked Hazel's solo at #21 on its list of greatest wah solos of all time in 2015.
• Critics have lavished praise on the guitar solo in this song, and Clinton agrees that it's the best guitar work on any P-Funk recording. He also recommends "Alice In My Fantasies" from the 1974 Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On album. (From the Songfacts interview with George Clinton.)
• According to some sources, including Mojo magazine, Maggot Brain was Eddie Hazel's nickname.