Santana (band)
Encyclopedia
Santana is a rock band
based around guitarist Carlos Santana
and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice
" at the Woodstock Festival
in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill. This initial exposure made their first, eponymous album a hit at the time, followed in the next two years by successful follow-ups Abraxas
and Santana III.
Over the next few years, lineup changes were common and frequent, and although retaining a basis of Latin rock, Carlos Santana's increasing involvement with guru Sri Chinmoy
took the band further into more esoteric music, which continued for many years, although never quite losing the initial Latin influence.
In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Carlos Santana
, Jose Chepito Areas
, David Brown
, Mike Carabello
, Gregg Rolie
and Michael Shrieve
being honored.
Santana has achieved a total of eight Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards
which were all awarded in 2000. Carlos also won two Grammy Awards as a solo artist in 1989 and 2003.
(lead guitar), Mike Carabello
(percussion), Rod Harper (drums), David Brown
(bass guitar) and Gregg Rolie
(lead vocals, Hammond Organ B3). The group's first audition with this line up was at the Avalon Ball Room in the late summer of 1967. After the audition, Chet Helms
the promoter, in concert with The Family Dogg, told the band that they would never make it in the San Francisco Music Scene playing Latin fusion and suggested Carlos keep his day job washing dishes at Tick Tock's Drive-In on 3rd St.
Santana would perform at the festival with a huge crowd. Later that month, they released their debut album which peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard 200
pop chart with the single "Evil Ways
" being a top 10 single in the US.
. Work started on the album in mid-April 1970 and was done in early-May 1970. The album was released in September 1970 and would peak at number 1 on the US Billboard 200
and the Australian Kent Road Report. The album also featured the hit single "Black Magic Woman", which peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100
.
From January to July 1971, Santana would work on another album. The album was called Santana III. Released in September 1971, the album would be another number 1 on the US Billboard 200
and would become the band's peak popularity. This was the last album to feature the classic Woodstock era line-up of Santana.
, there had been multiple line-up changes. Bassist David Brown
left in 1971 before recording started and was replaced by Doug Rauch and Tom Rutley. Percussionist Michael Carabello left Santana and was replaced by Armando Peraza. Keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie
was replaced by Tom Coster
on a few songs.
Caravanserai was released on 11 October 1972 and peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard 200
pop chart without a hit single.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
based around guitarist Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice
Soul Sacrifice
"Soul Sacrifice" is an instrumental song by Santana, that was released on the Prime Cuts label and appears on their self-titled debut album, Santana.-Woodstock Music and Arts Festival:...
" at the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill. This initial exposure made their first, eponymous album a hit at the time, followed in the next two years by successful follow-ups Abraxas
Abraxas (album)
Abraxas is the second studio album by the Latin influenced rock band Santana. Consolidating their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August of 1969, and the interest generated by their first album, Santana , the band took some time to issue a follow-up...
and Santana III.
Over the next few years, lineup changes were common and frequent, and although retaining a basis of Latin rock, Carlos Santana's increasing involvement with guru Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...
took the band further into more esoteric music, which continued for many years, although never quite losing the initial Latin influence.
In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Jose Chepito Areas
José Areas
José Chepito Areas is a Nicaraguan percussionist. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as a percussionist for Santana, which he was from 1969-1980. In 1997 he performed on the album Abraxas Pool with other former members of Santana.-References:...
, David Brown
David Brown (musician)
David Brown was the primary bass guitar player for the band Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1973 until 1976. David grew up in Daly City, California...
, Mike Carabello
Mike Carabello
Michael Carabello in San Francisco, California. In 1998, Michael Carabello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the latin rock group Santana....
, Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
and Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
being honored.
Santana has achieved a total of eight Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...
which were all awarded in 2000. Carlos also won two Grammy Awards as a solo artist in 1989 and 2003.
Early days
The band was formed in 1967 in San Francisco as the Carlos Santana Blues Band with the help of Tom Fraser. The first established members were Carlos SantanaCarlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
(lead guitar), Mike Carabello
Mike Carabello
Michael Carabello in San Francisco, California. In 1998, Michael Carabello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the latin rock group Santana....
(percussion), Rod Harper (drums), David Brown
David Brown (musician)
David Brown was the primary bass guitar player for the band Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1973 until 1976. David grew up in Daly City, California...
(bass guitar) and Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
(lead vocals, Hammond Organ B3). The group's first audition with this line up was at the Avalon Ball Room in the late summer of 1967. After the audition, Chet Helms
Chet Helms
Chester Leo "Chet" Helms , often called the father of San Francisco's "1967 Summer of Love," was a music promoter and a cultural figure in San Francisco during its hippie period in the late Sixties....
the promoter, in concert with The Family Dogg, told the band that they would never make it in the San Francisco Music Scene playing Latin fusion and suggested Carlos keep his day job washing dishes at Tick Tock's Drive-In on 3rd St.
Woodstock and breakthrough
The band was announced as one of the performers at the Woodstock Festival. Santana started recording their 1969 debut album in May 1969 and finished it in a month.Santana would perform at the festival with a huge crowd. Later that month, they released their debut album which peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
pop chart with the single "Evil Ways
Evil Ways
"Evil Ways" is a song by Santana from their 1969 album Santana. It was written by Clarence "Sonny" Henry and recorded by jazz percussionist Willie Bobo in 1968 on his album of the same name. The song is in simple verse form...
" being a top 10 single in the US.
Abraxas and Santana III
Santana went on tour to promote the album and started work on their next album, AbraxasAbraxas (album)
Abraxas is the second studio album by the Latin influenced rock band Santana. Consolidating their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August of 1969, and the interest generated by their first album, Santana , the band took some time to issue a follow-up...
. Work started on the album in mid-April 1970 and was done in early-May 1970. The album was released in September 1970 and would peak at number 1 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and the Australian Kent Road Report. The album also featured the hit single "Black Magic Woman", which peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
From January to July 1971, Santana would work on another album. The album was called Santana III. Released in September 1971, the album would be another number 1 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and would become the band's peak popularity. This was the last album to feature the classic Woodstock era line-up of Santana.
Caravanserai and member changes
Before recording their fourth album CaravanseraiCaravanserai (album)
Caravanserai is the fourth studio album by Santana released in October 1972. It marked a major turning point in Carlos Santana's career as it was a sharp departure from his critically acclaimed first three albums...
, there had been multiple line-up changes. Bassist David Brown
David Brown (musician)
David Brown was the primary bass guitar player for the band Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1973 until 1976. David grew up in Daly City, California...
left in 1971 before recording started and was replaced by Doug Rauch and Tom Rutley. Percussionist Michael Carabello left Santana and was replaced by Armando Peraza. Keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
was replaced by Tom Coster
Tom Coster
Tom Coster is an American keyboardist and composer. Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies through college and a productive five-year stint as a musician in the U.S...
on a few songs.
Caravanserai was released on 11 October 1972 and peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
pop chart without a hit single.
Band members
| Vocals | Keyboards | Guitar |
|---|---|---|
|
Gregg Rolie Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band... : 1967-71 Tom Coster Tom Coster is an American keyboardist and composer. Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies through college and a productive five-year stint as a musician in the U.S... : 1972-78, 83, 86 Wendy Haas Wendy Haas-Mull is an American vocalist and keyboardist best known for her work with the bands Santana and Azteca. She is the wife of actor/comedian Martin Mull.-Biography:... : 1972 Leon Patillo Leon Patillo is an American Contemporary Christian singer and evangelist.-Career:Patillo's first musical endeavor was with the group Creation, later called Leon's Creation. Formed in the late 1960s, Creation was a funk group similar in style and composition to Sly & the Family Stone; they were... : 1973-1979 Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua is a jazz pianist, educator and composer who co-composed the CBS Evening News theme. He also has had an extensive career in pop and rock music, most notably as a founding member, keyboardist and songwriter of the 80s hard rock band, Giant. He studied at Indiana University and the New... : 1979-80 David Sancious David Sancious is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on the 1992 album Human Touch. Sancious is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known as a keyboard player and... : 1984 |
Neal Schon Neal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums... : 1969-72 John McLaughlin (musician) John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer... : 1973 Jorge Santana Jorge Santana is a Mexican guitarist, brother of musician Carlos Santana.He was a former member of Malo who had a top twenty hit "Suavecito" in 1972.... : 1993 - 1996 |
| Bass guitar | Drums | Percussion |
|
David Brown (musician) David Brown was the primary bass guitar player for the band Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1973 until 1976. David grew up in Daly City, California... : 1967-71, 1974–76 Doug Rauch Douglas Haywood Rauch was an American bassist most famous for his work with Carlos Santana during his jazz fusion period in the early 1970s.-Early years:... : 1972-73 Alphonso Johnson Alphonso Johnson is an American jazz bassist who has been influential since the early 1970s.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Johnson started off as an upright bass player, but switched to the electric bass in his late teens. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, Johnson showed... : 1985-89, 1992 |
Bob Livingston (musician) Bob Livingston is a musician from Texas. He is a singer-songwriter, bass player, and a founding member of The Lost Gonzo Band. Livingston was a key figure instigating the cosmic cowboy, progressive country and outlaw country music movements that distinguished the Austin, TX music scene in the 1970s... : 1968-69 Michael Shrieve Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974... : 1969-74, 1988 Buddy Miles George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on... : 1972 Gaylord Birch Gaylord G. Birch was a drummer for the bands Santana, Cold Blood, Pointer Sisters & Herbie Hancock.Birch was the drummer for the Pointer Sisters during 1974 and performed many live performances with the group... : 1976, 1991 Graham Lear Graham Lear is a Canadian drummer. He was born in the United Kingdom on July 24, 1949. In 1952 his family moved to London, Ontario . He began his professional career at the age of 13 with the London Symphony Orchestra. During his teenage years he practiced, played and toured with several bands in... : 1976-87 Chester Thompson Chester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report... : 1984 Dennis Chambers Dennis Chambers is an American drummer who has recorded and performed with John Scofield, George Duke, Brecker Brothers, Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, John McLaughlin, Niacin, Mike Stern, Greg Howe, and many others. Despite a lack of formal training, Chambers has become well known among... : 2004–present |
Mike Carabello Michael Carabello in San Francisco, California. In 1998, Michael Carabello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the latin rock group Santana.... (Congas): 1966-67, 1969–71 José Areas José Chepito Areas is a Nicaraguan percussionist. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as a percussionist for Santana, which he was from 1969-1980. In 1997 he performed on the album Abraxas Pool with other former members of Santana.-References:... (Timbales): 1969-80 Coke Escovedo Coke Escovedo was an American percussionist born April 30, 1941 in Los Angeles, California. Coke Escovedo first rose to prominence in 1969 as a member of Santana. Coke would be a featured on Santana's) Santana III album. In early 1972 Coke formed Azteca along with his brother Pete Escovedo... (Timbales): 1971-72 Pete Escovedo Peter "Pete" Michael Escovedo is a Mexican-American musician percussionist.-Biography:With his two brothers, Pete formed Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Santana hired Pete and Coke Escovedo for his group.He led the 14-24 piece Latin Big band Azteca.Father to musician Sheila Escovedo, aka... (Timbales): 1971, 1977–79 Armando Peraza Armando Peraza is a Latin jazz percussionist. Through his long associations with jazz pianist George Shearing, vibraphonist Cal Tjader and guitarist Carlos Santana, he has been internationally known from the 1950s through to the 1990s... (Congas, Bongos): 1972-75, 1977–90 Francisco Aguabella Francisco Aguabella was an Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist whose career began in the 1950s.-Biography:Aguabella was born in Matanzas, Cuba. In the 1950s, he left Cuba to perform with Katherine Dunham in the Shelley Winters film Mambo filmed in Italy... (Congas): 1969-71 Orestes Vilató Orestes Vilató is a Timbalero/Bongosero.He went to New York City at the age of 12, after his father was recruited to be in charge of international flights inaugurated by Cubana de Aviación... (Timbales): 1980-87 |
| Other instruments | ||
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Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,... : trumpet 1976 |
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