The History of Santana

Santana, a rock group formed forty years ago and still thriving today, could really be called Carlos Santana, as this veteran guitarist came in at the beginning and is still playing. Union laws for musicians in 1966 forced the rock ensemble in San Francisco to adopt the surname of their lead guitarist as the name of the band, and they were signed up with record company CBS shortly after their formation. Two other musicians that stayed with Carlos were Michael Carabello, a percussionist, and organist/vocalist Gregg Rolie. The musical style was a blend of rock and funk, although Carlos's influence were very much jazz and rhythm 'n' blues.

Carlos came from a musical background but met his fellow musicians when he moved to California from Tijuana in Mexico. He and the band went on a musical journey through the decades, recording 10 stunning albums, one which went platinum five times, three that hit platinum twice, and the rest hitting platinum or gold. They achieved legend status at Woodstock and lived and breathed the political, spiritual and drug revolution of the sixties and seventies.

Throughout the eighties and nineties, the band lost popularity and airplay, but Carlos rose from the ashes in the new millenium, hitting the number one spot with the single 'Smooth' and has since made the album charts several times, collaborating with a host of new promising artists. He is now consideered to be in the top fifteen guitarists of all time and his albums will always be found in the collections of the most discerning music lovers.