Sammy Hagar Reveals The Story Behind ‘Big Foot’
When you crawl inside the inner workings of Chickenfoot, you learn the band uses some pretty interesting methods to write songs. Guitarist Joe Satriani, for example, names his guitar riffs, and his title for the first single from the band’s most recent album ‘III’ wound up sticking for good.
Satriani’s riff names normally don’t make it into the final creative songwriting circle, but in the case of ‘Big Foot,’ some cosmic musical karma contributed the right juju.
‘Foot vocalist Sammy Hagar tells the Chop Shop Guitar Show that the title for ‘Big Foot’ just happened to line up exactly with Satriani’s working title for the riff that inspired the song, which was a complete surprise to Hagar. “It was so funny, because I didn’t realize he called it that and there’s this kind of magic that Joe and I have as songwriters.”
Hagar goes on to explain, “He sends me that music and I’m listening to it and I’m singing to it, from the first time I heard it. I’m in this funky little hotel, because it was in a funky little town and I was listening to this funky little song and I started singing [something] like a “big foot on the gas,” you know? “
Hagar called Satriani to share his lyrical idea and the guitarist said, “’Oh my God, did you look at the title of the song?’ I said ‘No,’ and [he said] ‘it’s called ‘Big Foot’!’ [Laughs] It was fantastic!”
The pair have openly shared their mutual admiration in the past, with Hagar recently comparing his songwriting relationship with Satriani as being slightly similar to the one that Elton John and Bernie Taupin have shared through the years, with one major difference. While John finds inspiration from Taupin’s lyrics to create the music, wiith Chickenfoot, it’s the exact opposite – Satriani’s music ultimately acts as the muse for Hagar’s lyrics.