Santana

Arriving toward the close of the 1960s, Santana emerged as psychedelic trailblazers who brought Latin rock into widespread commercial view through their opening trio of releases: Santana, Abraxas, and Santana III. Their Woodstock slot propelled the self-titled debut to immediate success, as the single “Evil Ways” climbed into the Billboard Top Ten during 1969. The band held its chart dominance until 1973, when founder and signature guitarist Carlos Santana turned toward his own esoteric, spiritually inclined jazz-fusion explorations. Although he stepped away from the ensemble that bore his surname, he repeatedly rejoined the group, guiding it through stretches of both high output and relative quiet. Across those decades Santana retained a devoted classic-rock audience, yet popularity surged again in 1999 with Supernatural, a high-profile return overseen by Clive Davis and highlighted by the Rob Thomas collaboration “Smooth.” Following the precedent set by earlier smashes such as “Black Magic Woman,” “Evil Ways,” and “Oye Como Va,” “Smooth” topped the pop charts—the band’s first number-one single—and became a lasting standard that carried Santana forward into the new century. He alternated between reassembling the Santana III lineup for 2014’s Santana IV, joining the Isley Brothers on 2018’s Power of Peace, cutting Africa Speaks with Spanish vocalist Concha Buika in 2019, and issuing the star-laden Blessings and Miracles in the Supernatural mold in 2021.

Carlos Santana launched the Santana Blues Band alongside guitarist-keyboardist-singer Gregg Rolie in 1966. Early membership fluctuated until it stabilized around Carlos, Rolie, bassist David Brown, drummer Bob “Doc” Livingston, and percussionist Marcus Malone by 1967, at which point the group dropped “Blues Band” from its title. Promoter Bill Graham discovered them and scheduled Santana for his Fillmore West on June 16, 1968. Columbia Records soon signed the act and assigned producer David Rubinson to document performances at the venue that December; those recordings remained unreleased until Columbia/Legacy issued them in 1997 as Live at the Fillmore 1968.

Before entering the studio for their debut album in early 1969, Santana replaced Livingston and Malone with Michael Shrieve and Mike Carabello while adding percussionist José “Chepitó” Areas. This configuration cut the self-titled first record and then toured, securing a breakthrough appearance at Woodstock in August 1969. The album reached stores that same month and quickly rose to number four on Billboard’s album chart during its two-year chart run. Exposure from the band’s prominent sequence in the 1970 Woodstock film, together with the single “Evil Ways” reaching number nine on the Hot 100 in 1970, further boosted its profile. In September 1970 the group delivered Abraxas, which surpassed its predecessor by hitting number one, remaining on the charts for eighteen months, and spawning two major singles: “Black Magic Woman,” which climbed to number four, and “Oye Como Va,” which reached number thirteen.

The Santana roster expanded once more on the 1971 release commonly known as Santana III when guitarist Neil Schon came aboard and percussionist Coke Escovedo substituted for an ailing Areas. Santana III became the band’s third straight commercial triumph, topping the chart and producing the sizable hit “Everybody’s Everything,” which peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100.

Santana III closed the book on the group’s classic lineup. After the tour supporting that album, the original members parted ways, though Carlos retained ownership of the band name. He promptly assembled a revised lineup that included Rolie, Schon, and Areas; this edition made its recorded debut on Caravanserai, a 1972 album in which the guitarist advanced deeper into jazz territory. Although the record reached number eight on Billboard and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with Vocal Coloring, it halted the band’s commercial ascent—an outcome that did nothing to curb Carlos’s drive for further exploration. He soon began splitting his energies between the group and outside projects, beginning with Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles: Live!, an album drawn from their joint December 1971–April 1972 tour. He next collaborated with guitarist John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra on 1973’s Love Devotion Surrender, an album shaped by his growing spiritual interests. McLaughlin introduced him to guru Sri Chinmoy, prompting Carlos to adopt the name Devadip—“the lamp, light, and eye of God.” Continuing along that path, he joined Alice Coltrane in 1974 for the jazz-fusion duet album Illuminations. That same year the Santana band issued the triple-live set Lotus, recorded in Japan; the album’s stature grew over time and Columbia/Legacy eventually released a complete edition in 2017.

While pursuing broader musical and spiritual directions, Carlos kept the Santana band active, its personnel now shifting fluidly as players moved in and out. A fresh lineup delivered Welcome in 1973, yet its number-twenty-five Billboard peak reflected the commercial cooling that followed Caravanserai. Borboletta, issued the next year, fared marginally better at number twenty, but declining attendance prompted Carlos to steer 1976’s Amigos toward a more mainstream sound. Reuniting with original producer David Rubinson, the band adopted a polished, straightforward approach on Amigos, and the strategy succeeded: the album climbed to number ten. Rubinson and Santana quickly followed with Festival, which performed solidly after its January 1977 release. By year’s end the group released Moonflower, interleaving studio tracks with live recordings; it reached number ten, aided by a cover of the Zombies’ “She’s Not There” that hit number twenty-seven—their strongest Hot 100 placement since 1971. Another vintage cover, the Classics IV’s “Stormy,” appeared on 1978’s Inner Secrets, an album that barely entered the Top 30.

Carlos issued his first official solo album, Oneness: Silver Dreams Golden Reality, in March 1979; the jazz-inflected project appeared under the Devadip billing. Later that year the Santana band resurfaced with Marathon, a commercially oriented effort produced by Keith Olsen that featured the single “You Know That I Love You.” Shortly afterward Carlos released the solo album The Swing of Delight, another Rubinson collaboration credited to Devadip Carlos Santana. The band rebounded in 1981 with Zebop!, which reached number nine on the strength of the hit “Winning.” “Hold On,” the lead single from 1982’s Shangó, climbed to number fifteen, carrying its parent album to number twenty-two. A solo outing billed simply to “Carlos Santana,” Havana Moon, arrived in 1983 and peaked at thirty-one.

After that intense stretch of activity, Carlos reduced the band’s studio pace during the 1980s. Santana did not issue a new album until February 1985’s Beyond Appearances; its single “Say It Again” reached number forty-five while the LP itself peaked at number fifty. The group marked its twentieth anniversary with a 1986 concert, yet 1987’s Freedom registered only modestly at number ninety-five. Carlos returned to solo work that year with Blues for Salvador, whose title track earned him his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. A lavish box-set retrospective, Viva Santana!, appeared in 1988 and later earned gold certification; the band then delivered Spirits Dancing in the Flesh in 1990, their final Columbia release.

Santana moved to Polydor for 1992’s Milagro, which peaked at number 199 on the Billboard 200. The following year the group released Sacred Fire: Live in South America, which reached number 181. In 1994 Carlos collaborated with his brother Jorge and nephew Carlos Hernandez on the Santana Brothers album, which peaked at number 191. Meanwhile Rolie, Areas, and Carabello formed the separate project Abraxas Pool and issued an album under that name the same year.

Through the remainder of the 1990s Santana edged closer to the oldies circuit until longtime supporter Clive Davis signed them to Arista in 1998. Davis orchestrated a star-studded comeback that materialized as the 1999 album Supernatural, which far exceeded expectations. Anchored by the single “Smooth”—featuring Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, who also co-wrote the track—Supernatural became a worldwide blockbuster, topping charts globally, achieving diamond certification in the United States, and capturing eight Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Album of the Year. The project yielded another number-one single, “Maria Maria” with Wyclef Jean and G&B, yet “Smooth” kept the album at number one for twelve weeks. Santana followed with the Supernatural sequel Shaman in 2002. Powered by the hit “The Game of Love”—co-written by Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals and sung by Michelle Branch, which reached number five and won the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals—the album again topped Billboard and earned double-platinum RIAA certification.

All That I Am, released in 2005, debuted at number two but effectively ended Santana’s run of major pop hits; its lead single “I’m Feeling You,” again featuring Michelle Branch, peaked at number fifty-five. Despite the absence of new chart singles, Santana remained a steady presence in pop and rock culture. In 2010 the band issued Guitar Heaven, a set of classic-rock covers with guest vocalists that debuted at number five and proved to be their last Arista album.

Shape Shifter, the 2012 release on the Sony-distributed Starfaith imprint, was the first Santana album without guest vocalists since Milagro; the largely instrumental set reached number sixteen. Santana returned to collaborative work with 2014’s Corazón, an album emphasizing Latin music and featuring Pitbull, Gloria Estefan, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and Juanes. Carlos reassembled most of the Santana III lineup—Rolie, Schon, Shrieve, and Carabello—for Santana IV, released in April 2016. The following year the band released Power of Peace, a collaborative album with the Isley Brothers that marked their final Sony release.

Santana signed with Concord in 2018. The first project under the new deal was the Narada Michael Walden-produced EP In Search of the Mona Lisa, which appeared in January 2019. That June the band issued Africa Speaks, produced by Rick Rubin and spotlighting an alliance with Spanish vocalist Concha Buika. Its title track was co-written by Carlos, Buika, and the late producer-arranger David Axelrod; other standouts included the single “Breaking Down the Door,” “Los Invisibles” (co-written with Rachid Taha and Steve Hillage), and Laura Mvula’s “Blue Skies,” one of two tracks featuring her as guest. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200.

Blessings and Miracles saw Santana deliver another guest-heavy, pop-oriented set, this time joined by Chris Stapleton, Steve Winwood, G-Eazy, Corey Glover, Kirk Hammett, and Rob Thomas for a wide-ranging pop-fusion collection.