Rock history: Santana and Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana - photo by: Falkenauge, CC-AS 3.0

Santana remains one of the most influential bands in music today. They created album after album of Latin-infused rock long before the terms “fusion” or “world music” became fashionable.

Like most “instant” successes, Santana had actually been playing for several years before catching national attention. Originally the Santana Blues Band, the group included Carlos Santana (guitar/vocals), Mike Carabello (percussion), Rod Harper (drums), Gus Rodriguez (bass guitar), Tom Frazier (guitar) and Gregg Rolie (organ/vocals). They soon shortened the name to Santana, and debuted in June 1968 at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

Their first album, Santana, was released 1969. By this time, the group was made up of Carlos Santana (guitar), Gregg Rolie (keyboard/vocals), David Brown (bass guitar), Michael Shrieve (drums), Jose “Chepito” Areas (percussion), and Michael Carabello (percussion). Touring to support the album, the band played at Woodstock, and they were one of the surprise hits of the festival. The instrumental “Soul Sacrifice” was featured in the Woodstock film and soundtrack albums, and Santana became a huge hit. The album spent over two years on the charts, reaching as high as number four, and the single “Evil Ways” went to number nine on the Billboard charts.

Santana’s second album, Abraxas, was an even greater success. Released in September 1970, it spent more than a year and a half on the charts and went all the way to number one, selling over four million copies. The album also had two top-10 singles, “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va.” Santana III was released in September 1971, and it was another massive hit for the band. The album also reached number one and sold over two million copies.

It became apparent early on that there were deep creative differences between Carlos Santana and Gregg Rolie. Rolie was becoming more influenced by the progressive rock genre, and wanted to highlight keyboards and create thematically linked albums. Santana, however, wanted to continue to explore a Latin sound and a heavy emphasis on percussion. Not surprisingly, the band began to disintegrate, and broke up after the tour for Santana III.

Carlos Santana retained the rights to the band name, and re-organized the group in 1972. They continued to record and tour, with innumerable line-up changes. Carlos Santana remained the constant, and to most of the public, he is the band. Despite a loyal following for both his side projects and the band’s recordings, the mega-hits of the early years became elusive. By the 1990s, record sales had fallen badly, and 1991’s Milagro became Santana’s first new studio release not to reach the Top 100. The Woodstock-era band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, but many critics had written off the band. By the end of the decade, Santana was without a contract for the first time in almost 30 years.

Arista Records’ Clive Davis, who had worked with Santana during their hey-day at Columbia, didn’t think it was a lost cause. He offered the band a contract, and worked with Santana to put together an album stuffed with performances by high-profile guest stars like Rob Thomas, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Everlast, and Dave Matthews. Supernatural was a huge commercial success, selling over 10 million copies, and the single "Smooth" (with Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas) was a number one single. The album was also a critical success and received 11 Grammy Award nominations. Santana eventually won seven awards for the album including Record of the Year (Smooth), Album of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with vocal (Maria Maria), Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (Put Your Light On), Best Rock Album, and both Best Pop Instrumental and Best Rock Instrumental Performance. In addition, Rob Thomas and Itaal Shur took home the Grammy for Song of the Year (Smooth).

Santana’s 2002 release, Shaman, and the 2005 All That I Am followed the format of Supernatural, prominently featuring collaborations with other artists. Some fans and critics have worried that Santana has abandoned the Latin nature of his earlier work in favor of commercial appeal by recording with current artists ranging form Michelle Branch to Steven Tyler to Bo Bice (of American Idol fame). Defenders can note, however, that pairing with artists familiar to a younger crowd can introduce the distinctive Santana sound to a new generation of listeners.