Early life Santana was born in
Autlán de Navarro in
Jalisco, Mexico on July 20, 1947. He learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight, under the tutelage of his father, who was a
mariachi musician. His younger brother,
Jorge, also became a professional guitarist. The family moved from Autlán to
Tijuana, on the border with the United States. Carlos' rock and roll career started in the city park:
Parque Teniente Guerrero, his mother took him to see the
Tj's, the pioneer rock and roll band from the city. TJ (tee jay) is a nickname for Tijuana. They were formed by
Javier Bátiz. At the age of 12, Carlos became a roadie and eventually he would join them as a bass player, bass because Bátiz was playing guitar. He later left so he could play guitar in another bar band. The Tj's and Bátiz turned Carlos on to
blues music, especially that of
T-Bone Walker,
Muddy Waters,
B.B. King,
Chuck Berry,
Howlin' Wolf, and
James Brown. The Santanas then moved to
San Francisco, where his father had steady work. In October 1966, Santana started the
Santana Blues Band. By 1968, the band had begun to incorporate different types of influences into their electric blues. Santana later said, "If I would go to some cat's room, he'd be listening to
Sly [Stone] and
Jimi Hendrix; another guy to the
Stones and
the Beatles. Another guy'd be listening to
Tito Puente and
Mongo Santamaría. Another guy'd be listening to
Miles [Davis] and John Coltrane|[John] Coltrane... To me it was like being at a university." Around the age of eight, Santana fell under the influence of blues performers like
B.B. King, Javier Bátiz, and
John Lee Hooker.
Gábor Szabó's mid-1960s jazz guitar work also strongly influenced Santana's playing. Indeed, Szabó's composition "Gypsy Queen" was used as the second part of Santana's 1970 treatment of
Peter Green's composition "
Black Magic Woman", almost down to identical
guitar licks. Santana's 2012 instrumental album
Shape Shifter includes a song called "Mr. Szabo", played in tribute in the style of Szabó. Santana also credits Hendrix, Bloomfield,
Hank Marvin, and Peter Green as important influences; he considered Bloomfield a direct mentor, writing of a key meeting with Bloomfield in San Francisco in the foreword he wrote to a 2000 biography of Bloomfield,
Michael Bloomfield: If You Love These Blues – An Oral History. Between the ages of 10 and 12, he was sexually abused by an American man who brought him across the border. Santana lived in the
Mission District, graduated from James Lick Middle School, and left
Mission High School in 1965. He was accepted at
California State University, Northridge and
Humboldt State University, but chose not to attend college.
Early career Santana was influenced by popular artists of the 1950s such as
B.B. King,
T-Bone Walker, Javier Batiz, and
John Lee Hooker. Soon after he began playing guitar, he joined local bands along the "Tijuana Strip", where he was able to begin developing his own sound. After several years spent working as a dishwasher at Tic Tock Drive-In No2 and
busking to pay for a
Gibson SG, replacing a destroyed
Gibson Melody Maker, Santana decided to become a full-time musician. In 1966, he was chosen along with other musicians to form an ad hoc band to substitute for that of an intoxicated
Paul Butterfield to play a Sunday matinee set at
Bill Graham's
Fillmore Auditorium. Graham selected the substitutes from musicians he knew primarily through his connections with the
Butterfield Blues Band,
Grateful Dead, and
Jefferson Airplane. Santana's guitar playing caught the attention of both the audience and Graham. During the same year he and fellow street musicians
David Brown (bass guitar),
Marcus Malone (percussion) and
Gregg Rolie (lead vocals,
Hammond Organ B3), formed the Santana Blues Band.
Record deal, Woodstock breakthrough, and height of success: 1969–1972 Santana's band was signed by
Columbia Records, which shortened its name to simply "
Santana". It went into the studio to record its first album in January 1969, finally laying down tracks in May that became its first album. Members were not satisfied with the release, dismissed drummer Bob Livingston, and added
Mike Shrieve, who had a strong background in both jazz and rock. Then the band lost percussionist
Marcus Malone, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Michael Carabello was re-enlisted in his place, bringing with him experienced
Nicaraguan percussionist
José Chepito Areas. Major rock music promoter
Bill Graham, a Latin music aficionado who had been a fan of Santana from its inception, arranged for the band to appear on August 16, 1969 at the
Woodstock Music and Art Festival before its debut album was even released. Its set was one of the surprises of the festival, highlighted by an eleven-minute performance of a throbbing instrumental, "
Soul Sacrifice". Its inclusion in the
Woodstock film and soundtrack album vastly increased the band's popularity. Graham also suggested Santana record the
Willie Bobo song "
Evil Ways", as he felt it would get radio airplay. The band's first album,
Santana, was released on August 22, 1969 and became a hit, reaching No. 4 on the U.S.
Billboard 200. The band's performance at Woodstock and the follow-up sound track and movie introduced them to an international audience and garnered critical acclaim. The sudden success which followed put pressure on the group, highlighting the different musical directions in which Rolie and Santana were starting to go. Rolie, along with some of the other band members, wanted to emphasize a basic
hard rock sound which had been a key component in establishing the band from the start. Santana, however, was increasingly interested in moving beyond his love of blues and rock and wanted more jazzy, ethereal elements in the music. He became fascinated with
Gábor Szabó,
Miles Davis,
Pharoah Sanders, and
John Coltrane, as well as developing a growing interest in
spirituality. Although Davis and Santana were longtime friends, they only recorded together once, in 1990 for Rustichelli. Santana's band has also included many musicians who also played with Davis. At the same time, Chepito Areas was stricken with a near-fatal
brain hemorrhage, and Santana hoped to continue by finding a temporary replacement (first
Willie Bobo, then
Coke Escovedo), while others in the band, especially Michael Carabello, felt it was wrong to perform publicly without Areas. Cliques formed and the band started to disintegrate. Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed up with their second album,
Abraxas, in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.
Abraxas included two of Santana's most enduring and well-known hits, "
Oye Como Va", and "
Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen".
Abraxas spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart at the end of 1970. The album remained on the charts for 88 weeks and was certified 4× platinum in 1986. In 2003, the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Teenage
San Francisco Bay Area guitar prodigy
Neal Schon joined the Santana band in 1971, in time to complete the third album,
Santana III. The band now boasted a powerful dual-lead-guitar act that gave the album a tougher sound. The sound of the band was also helped by the return of a recuperated Chepito Areas and the assistance of Coke Escovedo in the percussion section. Enhancing the band's sound further was the support of popular Bay Area group
Tower of Power's
horn section, Luis Gasca of
Malo, and other
session musicians which added to both percussion and vocals, injecting more energy to the proceedings.
Santana III was another success, reaching No. 1 on the album charts, selling two million copies, and yielding the hit "
No One to Depend On". Tension between members of the band continued, however. Along with musical differences, drug use became a problem, and Santana was deeply worried that it was affecting the band's performance. Coke Escovedo encouraged Santana to take more control of the band's musical direction, much to the dismay of some of the others who thought that the band and its sound was a collective effort. Also, financial irregularities were exposed while under the management of Stan Marcum, whom Bill Graham criticized as being incompetent. Growing resentments between Santana and Michael Carabello over lifestyle issues resulted in his departure on bad terms. James Mingo Lewis was hired at the last minute as a replacement at a concert in New York City. David Brown later left due to substance abuse problems. A
South American tour was cut short in
Lima, Peru due to unruly fans and student protests against U.S. governmental policies. In January 1972, Santana, Schon, Escovedo, and Lewis joined former
Band of Gypsys drummer
Buddy Miles for a concert at Hawaii's
Diamond Head Crater, which was recorded for the album
Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!, which became a gold record.
Caravanserai In early 1972, Santana and the remaining members of the band started working on their fourth album,
Caravanserai. During the studio sessions, Santana and
Michael Shrieve brought in other musicians: percussionists James Mingo Lewis and Latin-Jazz veteran,
Armando Peraza replacing Michael Carabello, and bassists Tom Rutley and Doug Rauch replacing
David Brown. Also assisting on keyboards were
Wendy Haas and
Tom Coster. With the unsettling influx of new players in the studio,
Gregg Rolie and
Neal Schon decided that it was time to leave after the completion of the album, even though both contributed to the session. Rolie returned home to Seattle; later, he and Schon became founding members of
Journey. When
Caravanserai did emerge in 1972, it marked a strong change in musical direction towards
jazz fusion. The album received critical praise, but CBS executive
Clive Davis warned Santana and the band that it would sabotage the band's position as a "
Top 40" act. Nevertheless, over the years, the album achieved platinum status. The difficulties Santana and the band went through during this period were chronicled in
Ben Fong-Torres'
Rolling Stone 1972 cover story "The Resurrection of Carlos Santana".
Shifting styles and spirituality: 1972–1979 in San Francisco In 1972, Santana became interested in the pioneering fusion band the
Mahavishnu Orchestra and its guitarist,
John McLaughlin. Aware of Santana's interest in meditation, McLaughlin introduced Santana and his wife Deborah to his guru
Sri Chinmoy. Chinmoy accepted them as disciples in 1973. Santana was given the name
Devadip, meaning "The lamp, light and eye of God". Santana and McLaughlin recorded an album together,
Love, Devotion, Surrender (1973) with members of Santana and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, along with percussionist
Don Alias and organist
Larry Young, both of whom had made appearances, along with McLaughlin, on
Miles Davis' classic 1970 album
Bitches Brew. In 1973, Santana, having obtained legal rights to the band's name,
Santana, formed a new version of the band with
Armando Peraza and
Chepito Areas on percussion,
Doug Rauch on bass,
Michael Shrieve on drums, and
Tom Coster and Richard Kermode on keyboards. Santana later was able to recruit jazz vocalist
Leon Thomas for the
tour supporting Caravanserai in Japan on July 3 and 4, 1973, which was recorded for the 1974 live, sprawling, high-energy triple vinyl LP fusion album
Lotus. CBS records would not allow its release unless the material was condensed. Santana did not agree to those terms, and
Lotus was available in the U.S. only as an expensive, imported, three-record set. The group later went into the studio and recorded
Welcome (1973), which further reflected Santana's interests in
jazz fusion and his increasing commitment to the spiritual life of Sri Chinmoy. A collaboration with
John Coltrane's widow,
Alice Coltrane,
Illuminations (1974), followed. The album delved into
avant-garde esoteric
free jazz,
Eastern Indian and classical influences with other ex-Miles Davis sidemen
Jack DeJohnette and
Dave Holland. Soon after, Santana replaced his band members again. This time Kermode, Thomas and Rauch departed from the group and were replaced by vocalist
Leon Patillo (later a successful
Contemporary Christian artist) and returning bassist David Brown. He also recruited soprano saxophonist Jules Broussard for the lineup. The band recorded one studio album
Borboletta, which was released in 1974. Drummer
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler later joined the band as a replacement for
Michael Shrieve, who left to pursue a solo career. in the Netherlands in 1978 By this time
Bill Graham's management company had assumed responsibility for the affairs of the group. Graham was critical of Santana's move into jazz and felt he needed to concentrate on getting
Santana back into the charts with the edgy, streetwise
ethnic sound that had made them famous. Santana himself was seeing that the group's direction was alienating many fans. Although the albums and performances were given good reviews by critics in jazz and
jazz fusion circles, sales had plummeted. Santana, along with
Tom Coster, producer David Rubinson, and Chancler, formed yet another version of
Santana, adding vocalist Greg Walker. The 1976 album
Amigos, which featured the songs "Dance, Sister, Dance" and "Let It Shine", had a strong funk and Latin sound. The album received considerable airplay on FM
album-oriented rock stations with the instrumental "
Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)" and re-introduced
Santana to the charts. In 1976,
Rolling Stone ran a second cover story on
Santana entitled "Santana Comes Home". In February 1976, Santana was presented with fifteen gold discs in Australia, representing sales in excess of 244,000. The albums conceived through the late 1970s followed the same formula, although with several lineup changes. Among the new personnel who joined was current percussionist Raul Rekow, who joined in early 1977. Most notable of the band's commercial efforts of this era was a version of the 1960s
Zombies hit, "
She's Not There", on the 1977 double album
Moonflower. Santana recorded two solo projects in this time:
Oneness: Silver Dreams – Golden Reality, in 1979 and
The Swing of Delight in 1980, which featured
Herbie Hancock,
Wayne Shorter,
Ron Carter, and
Tony Williams. The pressures and temptations of being a high-profile rock musician and requirements of the spiritual lifestyle which
guru Sri Chinmoy and his followers demanded were in conflict, and imposed considerable stress upon Santana's lifestyle and marriage. He was becoming increasingly disillusioned with what he thought were the unreasonable rules that Chinmoy imposed on his life, and in particular with his refusal to allow Santana and Deborah to start a family. He felt too that his fame was being used to increase the guru's visibility. Santana and Deborah eventually ended their relationship with Chinmoy in 1982.
1980s and early 1990s , Spain, 1984 ,
Joan Baez, and Santana in
Hamburg, May 1984 More radio-friendly singles followed from Santana and the band. "Winning" in 1981 (from
Zebop!) and "Hold On" (a remake of the Canadian artist
Ian Thomas' song) in 1982 both reached the top twenty. After his break with Sri Chinmoy, Santana went into the studio to record another solo album with Keith Olson and legendary R&B producer
Jerry Wexler. The 1983 album
Havana Moon revisited Santana's early musical experiences in Tijuana with
Bo Diddley's "
Who Do You Love" and the title cut,
Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon". The album's guests included
Booker T. Jones,
the Fabulous Thunderbirds,
Willie Nelson, and even Santana's father's
mariachi orchestra. Santana again paid tribute to his early rock roots by doing the film score to
La Bamba, which was based on the life of rock and roll legend
Ritchie Valens and starred
Lou Diamond Phillips. The band
Santana returned in 1985 with a new album,
Beyond Appearances, and two years later with
Freedom.
Freedom is the fifteenth studio album by Santana. By this recording, Santana had nine members, some of whom had returned after being with the band in previous versions, including lead singer on the album Buddy Miles. Freedom moved away from the more poppy sound of the previous album
Beyond Appearances and back to the band's original Latin rock. Growing weary of trying to appease record company executives with formulaic hit records, Santana took great pleasure in jamming and making guest appearances with notables such as the jazz fusion group
Weather Report, jazz pianist
McCoy Tyner, blues legend
John Lee Hooker, Frank Franklin,
Living Colour guitarist
Vernon Reid, and West African singer
Salif Keita. He and
Mickey Hart of the
Grateful Dead later recorded and performed with Nigerian drummer
Babatunde Olatunji, who conceived one of Santana's famous 1960s drum jams, "
Jingo". In 1988, Santana organized a reunion with past members from the Santana band for a
series of concert dates. CBS records released a 20-year retrospective of the band's accomplishments with
Viva Santana!, a double CD compilation. That same year, Santana formed an all-instrumental group featuring jazz legend
Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano saxophone. The group also included
Patrice Rushen on keyboards,
Alphonso Johnson on bass,
Armando Peraza and Chepito Areas on percussion, and
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler on drums. They toured briefly and received much acclaim from the music press, who compared the effort with the era of
Caravanserai (1972). Santana released another solo record,
Blues for Salvador (1987), which won a
Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. In 1990, Santana left Columbia Records after twenty-two years and signed with
Polygram. The following year he made a guest appearance on
Ottmar Liebert's album,
Solo Para Ti (1991), on the songs "Reaching out 2 U" and on a cover of his own song, "Samba Pa Ti". In 1992, Santana hired the
jam band Phish as his opening act. On his 1992 tour, Santana regularly invited some or all of the members of Phish to jam with his band during his headlining performances. Phish also toured with Santana in Europe in 1996. In early August 2003, Santana was named fifteenth on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In 2004, Santana was honored as the
Person of the Year by the
Latin Recording Academy. On April 21, 2005, Santana was honored as a
BMI Icon at the 12th annual BMI Latin Awards. Santana was the first songwriter designated a BMI Icon at the company's Latin Awards. The honor is given to a creator who has been "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers". In 2005,
Herbie Hancock approached Santana to collaborate on an album again using the
Supernatural formula.
Possibilities was released on August 30, 2005, featuring Carlos Santana and
Angélique Kidjo on "Safiatou". Also in 2005, fellow Latin star
Shakira invited Santana to play the
soft rock guitar ballad "
Illegal" on her second English-language studio album
Oral Fixation, Vol. 2. Santana's 2005 album
All That I Am consists primarily of collaborations with other artists. The first single, the peppy "
I'm Feeling You", again featured
Michelle Branch and
the Wreckers. Other musicians joining this time included
Steven Tyler of
Aerosmith,
Kirk Hammett from
Metallica, hip-hop artist/songwriter/producer
will.i.am, guitarist/songwriter/producer
George Pajon, hip-hop/reggae star
Sean Paul, and R&B singer
Joss Stone. In April and May 2006, Santana toured Europe, where he promoted his son
Salvador Santana's band as his opening act. In 2007, Santana appeared, along with
Sheila E. and
José Feliciano, on
Gloria Estefan's album
90 Millas, on the single "
No Llores". He also teamed again with Chad Kroeger for the hit single "
Into the Night". He also played guitar in
Eros Ramazzotti's hit "Fuoco nel fuoco" from the album
e². In 2008, Santana was reported to be working with his longtime friend, Marcelo Vieira, on his solo album
Acoustic Demos, which was released at the end of the year. It features tracks such as "For Flavia" and "Across the Grave", the latter said to feature heavy melodic riffs by Santana. Santana performed at the 2009
American Idol Finale with the top 13 finalists, which starred many acts such as KISS, Queen and Rod Stewart. On July 8, 2009, Santana appeared at the
Athens Olympic Stadium in Athens with his 10-member all-star band as part of his "Supernatural Santana – A Trip through the Hits" European tour. On July 10, 2009, he also appeared at
Philip II Stadium in
Skopje. With a 2.5-hour long concert and 20,000 people, Santana appeared for the first time in that region. "Supernatural Santana – A Trip through the Hits" was played through 2011 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Santana is featured as a playable character in the music video game
Guitar Hero 5. A live recording of his song "No One to Depend On" is included in the game, which was released on September 1, 2009. More recently in 2011, three Santana songs were offered as downloadable content (DLC) for guitar learning software
Rocksmith: "Oye Como Va", "Smooth", and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen". In the same year, Santana received the
Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2007 Santana, along with chef Roberto Santibañez, opened a chain of upscale
Mexican restaurants called "Maria Maria". The restaurants were located in
Tempe, Arizona,
Mill Valley,
Walnut Creek,
Danville, San Diego,
Austin, Texas, and
Boca Raton, Florida. As of 2021, the only open location is in Walnut Creek. In 2012, Santana released an album
Shape Shifter consisting of mostly instrumental tracks. On February 23, 2013, there was a public announcement on ultimateclassicrock.com about a reunion of the surviving members (minus Jose "Chepito" Areas) of the Santana band that recorded
Santana III in 1971. The next album was titled
Santana IV. On May 6, 2014, his first-ever Spanish-language album In 2016, Carlos Santana reunited with past Santana band members Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello, Michael Shrieve, and Neil Schon, releasing the album
Santana IV and embarking with the band on a brief tour. A full set from this lineup was filmed at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and released as a live album and DVD titled
Live at the House of Blues Las Vegas. In 2017, Santana collaborated with
the Isley Brothers to release the album
The Power of Peace on July 28, 2017. In December 2018, Santana published a guitar lesson on
YouTube as part of the online education series MasterClass. In October 2019, Santana was featured on the American rapper
Tyga's song "Mamacita" alongside American rapper
YG. The song's music video premiered on YouTube on 25 October. In March 2020, Santana's "Miraculous World Tour" was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, Santana signed a new global record deal with
BMG to release his new full-length studio album
Blessings and Miracles. In the same month, he performed in New York's
Central Park along with Rob Thomas and
Wyclef Jean. In March 2025, Santana and his band released a compilation album titled
Sentient, which included retrospective collaborations he previously made with
Michael Jackson,
Smokey Robinson,
Miles Davis,
Paolo Rustichelli,
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and his wife
Cindy Blackman Santana. The album also included three previously unreleased tracks. == Equipment ==