Nickelback’s record label has released a statement explaining why it wouldn’t let Chad Kroeger appear on the new Santana single, even though he’s on Santana’s album. Kroeger wrote and sang on “Why Don’t You & I” for Santana’s Shaman, which appeared on Arista Records. But when it came time to release the song as a single, Roadrunner Records nixed Kroeger’s participation, and Santana-at Kroeger’s recommendation-replaced him with Alex Band from the group the Calling.
In its statement, Roadrunner said, “The agreement between Arista and Roadrunner was for Chad Kroeger to perform on the Santana album Shaman. There was no intention from the beginning for the song to be a single between the two labels, thus the resulting new vocal performance (by Band) which was arranged by Arista.”
Nickelback will release a new album in late September, and Roadrunner felt that having Kroeger appear on a high-profile single during the summer might compromise the excitement over new Nickelback music in the fall.
Carlos Santana is disappointed, but he said he understands the situation-and he also faces similar issues. “I have restrictions for how many albums I can work with,” says Santana. “I love to work with everybody, man, but I also have restrictions. So I try not to abuse it, because I do respect the company I work with, and they also respect the fact that I’m not gonna abuse it. However, they’re not gonna stop me. They’re just gonna limit me by not doing as many. So I try to make it count.”
Santana is on tour to promote Shaman, and his next show is Tuesday (July 1) at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.
