Chickenfoot Dedicate a New Song to Late Manager John Carter

Chickenfoot have dedicated the new song ‘Up Next’ to their former manager John Carter, who died on May 10 midway through the recording of the band's upcoming album, 'Chickenfoot III,' which is due in stores next week.

The legendary A&R man, producer, songwriter and manager died at age 65 of cancer in Palm Springs, Calif. According to the ongoing Chickenfoot podcast series, it was very sudden and took everyone by surprise.

“Carter, dear friend, became our co-manager and he got cancer: last minute, got diagnosed, got operated on immediately and died. It was horrible,” says Sammy Hagar.

Joe Satriani originally wrote the riff and said he was uncertain of the direction the song would take once the band got it. “It made more sense, once I heard what Sammy was singing about. It’s a dark song, I mean it sounds up, but it really is a dark song. It’s about wondering if you’re up next, to die.”

John Carter produced Hagar’s first four albums and had been a longtime friend and confidant to the singer throughout his career. Recently, he told Hagar that he needed to incorporate his lifestyle into Chickenfoot and was hammering on him to write more lyrics about himself.

Sadly, Hagar explains, “Then he gets sick and we realize that he’s gonna die. So, that’s where the lyric came from. You just never know who’s next, you know? Who would have thought Carter? This is for Carter, this song, ‘cause I threw my lifestyle into that song for him.”

Watch Chickenfoot Discuss the Creation of 'Up Next'