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Biography
While this is a Carlos Santana biography you can't do a biography on him without saying some about the band Santana after all this important US group pioneered Afro-Latin rock and because of this remains head and shoulders above all pretenders to their throne. Formed in 1966, they rapidly transcended the late 60s San Francisco new wave scene from which they emerged, and, over the past 25 years, guitarist Carlos Santana born 20 July 1947, Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico) has introduced jazz and funk into their unique blend of polyrhythmic music. Carlos owns the name, and has maintained his role as leader through a constant change of personnel, while fully maintaining the Santana sound of 1967. The original line-up comprised Gregg Rolie (b. 1948; keyboards, vocals), Michael Shrieve (drums), David Brown (b. 15 February 1947, New York, USA), Marcus Malone and Mike Carabello. Later important members were Neal Schon (b. 27 February 1954, San Mateo, California, USA; guitar), José Chepito Areas, Tom Coster, Armando Peraza, Raul Rekow, Graham Lear, Orestes Vilató and Coke Escovedo.
But lets not go straight into the band lets first have a brief look at why the man picked up the guitar.
Carlos as previously said was born on the 20th of July 1947 in Autlan De Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico and his father a mariachi violinist first got Carlos involved in music and by the age of five his father had already started teaching him hoping that one day his son would follow in his footsteps but this was not to be . The Family moved when Carlos was just eight to a location that escapes me at the moment but it's not too important what happened when he moved is . When Carlos's family moved Carlos met the blues and Carlos was so moved and touched by the sounds of B.B King John Lee Hooker etc that he immediately made the decision to pick up the guitar and so he was hooked. Carlos later moved to San Francisco in his late teens where he became ever more consumed by music and he would try his hardest to see EVERY band play at the local halls. It was by chance that one day when he was at one of the many shows he went to an all star jam took place and Carlos's friend volunteers Carlos to take part and Carlos was invited onto stage to jam with them too . Carlos played rhythm for the most of it until one of the stars said to him to play a solo and that's where Carlos was taken notice of . After the jam the same Star whose name is lost in the memory of Carlos asked him if he had a band Carlos did not at that time but he said yes anyway it was with th9is then that the star said that his band could open for them and so Carlos started recruiting and the Santana Blues Band was formed.
By 1969 Santana were regional favourites, and Carlos had made a prominent guest appearance on Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield's The Live Adventures of Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. That year's groundbreaking Woodstock Festival was the group's major breakthrough. Their performance gave rock fans a first taste of "Cubano rock", with "Soul Sacrifice" a tour de force highlight. Signed to Columbia Records, their first three albums were outstanding examples of the genre. Santana, Abraxas and Santana III spent several months near the top of the US charts, the latter two staying at number 1 for many weeks. These albums included numerous memorable and fiery tracks including "Jingo", "Evil Ways" (US number 9, January 1970), a definitive version of Peter Green's "Black Magic Woman" (US number 4, November 1970), Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" (US number 13, February 1971), "Everybody's Everything" (US number 12, October 1971) and possibly the most sensual rock instrumental of all time, "Samba Pa Ti". On the latter track, Carlos plays a solo that oozes sexuality over an irresistible slow Latin beat that builds to the inevitable climax. Caravanserai marked a change of style following the demise of the original line-up (Rolie and Schon departed to form Journey). This important album is almost a single suite showing a move towards jazz in the mode of Miles Davis' In A Silent Way. At that time Carlos became a disciple of Sri Chimnoy and, after befriending fellow guitarist John McLaughlin, he released the glorious Love Devotion And Surrender. The same year he released a live album with soul/funk drummer Buddy Miles. Welcome (featuring vocalist Leon Thomas and guest McLaughlin) and Borboletta (with guests Flora Purim and Stanley Clarke) were lesser albums. He returned to hard Latin rock with the excellent Amigos in 1977, while a version of the Zombies' "She's Not There" reached UK number 11 in October.
In his parallel world Carlos maintained a jazz-fusion path with a series of fine albums, the most notable of which was The Swing Of Delight with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Zebop! in 1981 was a tour de force, with Carlos' guitar playing exhibiting a clarity not heard since the earlier albums. The hit single from this collection was the admirable Russ Ballard song "Winning". The solo Havana Moon featured guests Willie Nelson and Booker T. Jones, although the difference between what is solo Santana and band Santana had become almost irrelevant as Carlos is such an iconoclastic leader. Beyond Appearances in 1985 maintained his considerable recorded output. The same year he toured with Bob Dylan to ecstatic audiences. He scored the music for La Bamba in 1986 and reunited with Buddy Miles in 1987 to record Freedom. In 1989 Santana's contribution to the title track of John Lee Hooker's excellent album The Healer was arguably the highlight of the set. This featured one of his most sparse, yet breathtaking, guitar solos. During the summer of 1993 the band toured South America and a live album, Sacred Fire, was released. At the same time Carlos also put his own record company, Guts And Grace, onto the market, beginning with a compilation of classic live performances from original artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye. In 1994 Santana appeared at Woodstock II, rekindling memories of their incendiary performance at the original festival. The line-up in 1995 featured Tony Lindsay as vocalist.
Any association with the name Santana continues to be a positive one; whether with the band or as a solo artist, Carlos Santana is an outstanding figure in rock music and has influenced countless aspiring guitarists. Recent compilations such as Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent and Live At The Fillmore emphasize his steady influence and consistency over four decades. He received the Billboard lifetime achievement award in 1996.
After almost 30 years with Columbia, the guitarist relocated to Arista Records for 1999's highly acclaimed Supernatural, which included the US number 1 hit single "Smooth" (featuring Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas who wrote the song about his wife) it stayed at the top of the Billboard chart for 12 weeks and "Put Your Lights On" (with Everlast). Supernatural had sold over 11 million copies in the USA by the start of the new millennium, and over 25 million worldwide. "Maria Maria", featuring The Product G&B, followed "Smooth" to the top of the US singles chart the following April. This unprecedented success resulted in him winning a staggering nine Grammy awards in 2000. The long awaited follow-up album featured another star-studded line-up of guest musicians and vocalists, including Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, Dido, P.O.D., Macy Gray, and Michelle Branch. The album carries his name but is more of a commercial enterprise than a true Santana record. However, Shaman debuted at the top of the US charts in November 2002. It showed that the legend that is Carlos Santana ain't finished yet :smile: .
Discography
Santana:1969
Abraxas:1970
Santana III:1971
Caravanserai:1972
Welcome:1973
Borboletta:1974
Santana's Greatest Hits:1974
Lotus:1975
Amigos:1976
Festival:1977
Moonflower:1977
Inner Secrets:1978
Marathon:1979
Zebop:1981
Shango:1982
Beyond Apperances:1985
Freedom:1987
Viva Santana!:1988
Milagro:1992
Sacred Fire:Live In South America:1993
Dance Of The Rainbow Serpant(Box Set):1995
Live At The Filmore 1968:1997
The Best Of Santana:1998
Supernatural:1999
Shaman:2002
And there you have it another legends submitted and some more info that you guys have soaked up :smile: so until next time I bid you farewell.
Z :smile:
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:cough: DamN!
