Carlos Santana is an acclaimed guitarist who achieved musical success in the 60s and 70s with his band the Santana Blues Band, which later became known only as Santana. Santana has given numerous memorable performances and their smooth blend of salsa and rock with blues and jazz earned them a fan following and several Grammy Awards.
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana was born July 20, 1947, in Jalisco, Mexico. He was part of a large family with six siblings and a musical heritage. Carlos’s musical endeavors began at the age of six when he learned to play the violin from his father, who was part of a mariachi group, but he soon found he preferred playing the guitar. At the age of thirteen, Carlos Santana moved with his family to San Francisco, California, where he struggled through school until he finally graduated Mission High School in 1965.
Though Santana didn’t care for the popular music of the era, he did develop an interest in the music scene in San Francisco. Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium became one of his favorite places to listen to performances. By the end of 1966, Carlos Santana and Tom Frazier along with Mike Carabello, Rod Harper, Gus Rodriguez, and Greg Rolie formed the Santana Blues Band.
Only Carlos and Greg Rolie stuck it out with the band and with new members under the single name Santana, the group performed at the Fillmore with the permission of promoter, Bill Graham. Their first recording came as a guest performance on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. When Santana finally signed with Columbia Records, Mike Carabello returned. Their first album, simply titled Santana, was released in 1969.
It was during that same year that Santana appeared for an eleven minute set at Woodstock Music and Art Festival. Though Carlos claims he doesn’t recall his famed Woodstock performance due to drugs he took prior to taking the stage, it was memorable enough to others. Santana’s second album Abraxas, which contained the hit "Black Magic Woman," reached number one on the album charts and sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
Over the years Santana has collaborated and appeared with many great musicians spanning other genres including Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Herbie Hancock, Dave Matthews, and Eric Clapton. After enjoying success for nearly three decades, Santana was inducted into the Rock and Hall of Fame in 1998. Following the band’s Hall of Fame induction, the 1999 album Supernatural, which featured Matthews and Clapton as guest performers, became Album of the Year, and won eleven Grammy Awards.
Carlos Santana has three children with wife Deborah, who he married in 1973. Together, they have contributed to many socially responsible causes and began the Milagro Foundation to help underprivileged youth. Santana contributed the profits from his 2003 Shaman tour to the fight against AIDS. Carolos continues to write and perform music and presently is helping to promote his son, Salvador Santana, and his band.
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