Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán[1] (Spanish:[ˈkaɾlosumˈbeɾtosanˈtanaβaraˈɣan]ⓘ; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of therock bandSantana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion ofrock and roll andLatin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic,blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played onpercussion instruments not generally heard inrock, such astimbales andcongas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.
In 2015,Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists.[3] In 2023,Rolling Stone named him the 11th greatest guitarist of all time.[4] He has won 10Grammy Awards and threeLatin Grammy Awards,[5] and was inducted along with his namesake band into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.[6]
Santana was born inAutlán de Navarro inJalisco, Mexico on July 20, 1947. He learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight, under the tutelage of his father, who was amariachi musician.[7] His younger brother,Jorge, also became a professional guitarist.
The family moved from Autlán toTijuana, on the border with the United States. Carlos' rock and roll career started in the city park:Parque Teniente Guerrero, his mother took him to see theTj's, the pioneer rock and roll band from the city. TJ (tee jay) is a nickname for Tijuana. They were formed byJavier Bátiz. At the age of 12, Carlos became a roadie and eventually he would join them as a bass player, bass because Bátiz was playing guitar. He later left so he could play guitar in another bar band.[8] The Tj's and Bátiz turned Carlos on toblues music, especially that ofT-Bone Walker,Muddy Waters,B.B. King,Chuck Berry,Howlin' Wolf, andJames Brown.
Around the age of eight, Santana fell under the influence of blues performers likeB.B. King, Javier Bátiz, andJohn Lee Hooker.Gábor Szabó's mid-1960s jazz guitar work also strongly influenced Santana's playing. Indeed, Szabó's composition "Gypsy Queen" was used as the second part of Santana's 1970 treatment ofPeter Green's composition "Black Magic Woman", almost down to identicalguitar licks. Santana's 2012 instrumental albumShape Shifter includes a song called "Mr. Szabo", played in tribute in the style of Szabó. Santana also credits Hendrix, Bloomfield,Hank Marvin, and Peter Green as important influences; he considered Bloomfield a direct mentor, writing of a key meeting with Bloomfield in San Francisco in the foreword he wrote to a 2000 biography of Bloomfield,Michael Bloomfield: If You Love These Blues – An Oral History.[13] Between the ages of 10 and 12, he was sexually abused by an American man who brought him across the border.[14] Santana lived in theMission District, graduated from James Lick Middle School, and leftMission High School in 1965. He was accepted atCalifornia State University, Northridge andHumboldt State University, but chose not to attend college.[15]
Santana was influenced by popular artists of the 1950s such asB.B. King,T-Bone Walker, Javier Batiz,[17] andJohn Lee Hooker.[18] Soon after he began playing guitar, he joined local bands along the "Tijuana Strip", where he was able to begin developing his own sound.[18] He was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, includingjazz andfolk music, and witnessed the growinghippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s.[19][20] After several years spent working as a dishwasher at Tic Tock Drive-In No2 andbusking to pay for aGibson SG, replacing a destroyedGibson Melody Maker,[21] Santana decided to become a full-time musician. In 1966, he was chosen along with other musicians to form an ad hoc band to substitute for that of an intoxicatedPaul Butterfield to play a Sunday matinee set atBill Graham'sFillmore Auditorium. Graham selected the substitutes from musicians he knew primarily through his connections with theButterfield Blues Band,Grateful Dead, andJefferson Airplane. Santana's guitar playing caught the attention of both the audience and Graham.[22]
Santana's band was signed byColumbia Records, which shortened its name to simply "Santana".[24] It went into the studio to record its first album in January 1969, finally laying down tracks in May that became its first album. Members were not satisfied with the release, dismissed drummer Bob Livingston, and addedMike Shrieve, who had a strong background in both jazz and rock. Then the band lost percussionistMarcus Malone, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Michael Carabello was re-enlisted in his place, bringing with him experiencedNicaraguan percussionistJosé Chepito Areas.
Major rock music promoterBill Graham, a Latin music aficionado who had been a fan of Santana from its inception, arranged for the band to appear at theWoodstock Music and Art Festival before its debut album was even released. Its set was one of the surprises of the festival, highlighted by an eleven-minute performance of a throbbing instrumental, "Soul Sacrifice". Its inclusion in theWoodstock film and soundtrack album vastly increased the band's popularity. Graham also suggested Santana record theWillie Bobo song "Evil Ways", as he felt it would get radio airplay. The band's first album,Santana, was released in August 1969 and became a hit, reaching No. 4 on the U.S.Billboard 200.[25]
The band's performance at Woodstock and the follow-up sound track and movie introduced them to an international audience and garnered critical acclaim. The sudden success which followed put pressure on the group, highlighting the different musical directions in which Rolie and Santana were starting to go. Rolie, along with some of the other band members, wanted to emphasize a basichard rock sound which had been a key component in establishing the band from the start. Santana, however, was increasingly interested in moving beyond his love of blues and rock and wanted more jazzy, ethereal elements in the music. He became fascinated withGábor Szabó,Miles Davis,Pharoah Sanders, andJohn Coltrane, as well as developing a growing interest inspirituality. Although Davis and Santana were longtime friends, they only recorded together once, in 1990 for Rustichelli. Santana's band has also included many musicians who also played with Davis.[26] At the same time, Chepito Areas was stricken with a near-fatalbrain hemorrhage, and Santana hoped to continue by finding a temporary replacement (firstWillie Bobo, thenCoke Escovedo), while others in the band, especially Michael Carabello, felt it was wrong to perform publicly without Areas. Cliques formed and the band started to disintegrate.
Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed up with their second album,Abraxas, in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.Abraxas included two of Santana's most enduring and well-known hits, "Oye Como Va", and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen".Abraxas spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart at the end of 1970.[27] The album remained on the charts for 88 weeks and was certified 4× platinum in 1986.[28] In 2003, the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[29]
TeenageSan Francisco Bay Area guitar prodigyNeal Schon joined the Santana band in 1971, in time to complete the third album,Santana III. The band now boasted a powerful dual-lead-guitar act that gave the album a tougher sound. The sound of the band was also helped by the return of a recuperated Chepito Areas and the assistance of Coke Escovedo in the percussion section. Enhancing the band's sound further was the support of popular Bay Area groupTower of Power'shorn section, Luis Gasca ofMalo, and othersession musicians which added to both percussion and vocals, injecting more energy to the proceedings.Santana III was another success, reaching No. 1 on the album charts, selling two million copies, and yielding the hit "No One to Depend On".
Tension between members of the band continued, however. Along with musical differences, drug use became a problem, and Santana was deeply worried that it was affecting the band's performance. Coke Escovedo encouraged Santana to take more control of the band's musical direction, much to the dismay of some of the others who thought that the band and its sound was a collective effort. Also, financial irregularities were exposed while under the management of Stan Marcum, whom Bill Graham criticized as being incompetent. Growing resentments between Santana and Michael Carabello over lifestyle issues resulted in his departure on bad terms. James Mingo Lewis was hired at the last minute as a replacement at a concert in New York City. David Brown later left due to substance abuse problems. ASouth American tour was cut short inLima, Peru due to unruly fans and student protests against U.S. governmental policies.
Santana performing in Hamburg, West Germany in 1973
In early 1972, Santana and the remaining members of the band started working on their fourth album,Caravanserai. During the studio sessions, Santana andMichael Shrieve brought in other musicians: percussionists James Mingo Lewis and Latin-Jazz veteran,Armando Peraza replacing Michael Carabello, and bassists Tom Rutley and Doug Rauch replacingDavid Brown. Also assisting on keyboards wereWendy Haas andTom Coster. With the unsettling influx of new players in the studio,Gregg Rolie andNeal Schon decided that it was time to leave after the completion of the album, even though both contributed to the session. Rolie returned home to Seattle; later, he and Schon became founding members ofJourney.
WhenCaravanserai did emerge in 1972, it marked a strong change in musical direction towardsjazz fusion. The album received critical praise, but CBS executiveClive Davis warned Santana and the band that it would sabotage the band's position as a "Top 40" act. Nevertheless, over the years, the album achieved platinum status. The difficulties Santana and the band went through during this period were chronicled inBen Fong-Torres'Rolling Stone 1972 cover story "The Resurrection of Carlos Santana".
New Year's Eve 1976 at theCow Palace in San Francisco
In 1972, Santana became interested in the pioneering fusion band theMahavishnu Orchestra and its guitarist,John McLaughlin. Aware of Santana's interest in meditation, McLaughlin introduced Santana and his wife Deborah to his guruSri Chinmoy. Chinmoy accepted them as disciples in 1973. Santana was given the nameDevadip, meaning "The lamp, light and eye of God". Santana and McLaughlin recorded an album together,Love, Devotion, Surrender (1973) with members of Santana and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, along with percussionistDon Alias and organistLarry Young, both of whom had made appearances, along with McLaughlin, onMiles Davis' classic 1970 albumBitches Brew.
In 1973, Santana, having obtained legal rights to the band's name,Santana, formed a new version of the band withArmando Peraza andChepito Areas on percussion,Doug Rauch on bass,Michael Shrieve on drums, andTom Coster and Richard Kermode on keyboards. Santana later was able to recruit jazz vocalistLeon Thomas for thetour supportingCaravanserai in Japan on July 3 and 4, 1973, which was recorded for the 1974 live, sprawling, high-energy triple vinyl LP fusion albumLotus. CBS records would not allow its release unless the material was condensed. Santana did not agree to those terms, andLotus was available in the U.S. only as an expensive, imported, three-record set. The group later went into the studio and recordedWelcome (1973), which further reflected Santana's interests injazz fusion and his increasing commitment to the spiritual life of Sri Chinmoy.
A collaboration withJohn Coltrane's widow,Alice Coltrane,Illuminations (1974), followed. The album delved intoavant-garde esotericfree jazz,Eastern Indian and classical influences with other ex-Miles Davis sidemenJack DeJohnette andDave Holland. Soon after, Santana replaced his band members again. This time Kermode, Thomas and Rauch departed from the group and were replaced by vocalistLeon Patillo (later a successfulContemporary Christian artist) and returning bassist David Brown. He also recruited soprano saxophonist Jules Broussard for the lineup. The band recorded one studio albumBorboletta, which was released in 1974. DrummerLeon "Ndugu" Chancler later joined the band as a replacement forMichael Shrieve, who left to pursue a solo career.
Santana during hisEuropean tour in the Netherlands in 1978
By this timeBill Graham's management company had assumed responsibility for the affairs of the group. Graham was critical of Santana's move into jazz and felt he needed to concentrate on gettingSantana back into the charts with the edgy, streetwiseethnic sound that had made them famous. Santana himself was seeing that the group's direction was alienating many fans. Although the albums and performances were given good reviews by critics in jazz andjazz fusion circles, sales had plummeted.
Santana, along withTom Coster, producer David Rubinson, and Chancler, formed yet another version ofSantana, adding vocalist Greg Walker. The 1976 albumAmigos, which featured the songs "Dance, Sister, Dance" and "Let It Shine", had a strong funk and Latin sound. The album received considerable airplay on FMalbum-oriented rock stations with the instrumental "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)" and re-introducedSantana to the charts. In 1976,Rolling Stone ran a second cover story onSantana entitled "Santana Comes Home". In February 1976, Santana was presented with fifteen gold discs in Australia, representing sales in excess of 244,000.[30]
The albums conceived through the late 1970s followed the same formula, although with several lineup changes. Among the new personnel who joined was current percussionist Raul Rekow, who joined in early 1977. Most notable of the band's commercial efforts of this era was a version of the 1960sZombies hit, "She's Not There", on the 1977 double albumMoonflower.
The pressures and temptations of being a high-profile rock musician and requirements of the spiritual lifestyle whichguruSri Chinmoy and his followers demanded were in conflict, and imposed considerable stress upon Santana's lifestyle and marriage. He was becoming increasingly disillusioned with what he thought were the unreasonable rules that Chinmoy imposed on his life, and in particular with his refusal to allow Santana and Deborah to start a family. He felt too that his fame was being used to increase the guru's visibility. Santana and Deborah eventually ended their relationship with Chinmoy in 1982.
More radio-friendly singles followed from Santana and the band. "Winning" in 1981 (fromZebop!) and "Hold On" (a remake of the Canadian artistIan Thomas' song) in 1982 both reached the top twenty. After his break with Sri Chinmoy, Santana went into the studio to record another solo album with Keith Olson and legendary R&B producerJerry Wexler. The 1983 albumHavana Moon revisited Santana's early musical experiences in Tijuana withBo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" and the title cut,Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon". The album's guests includedBooker T. Jones,the Fabulous Thunderbirds,Willie Nelson, and even Santana's father'smariachi orchestra. Santana again paid tribute to his early rock roots by doing the film score toLa Bamba, which was based on the life of rock and roll legendRitchie Valens and starredLou Diamond Phillips.
The bandSantana returned in 1985 with a new album,Beyond Appearances, and two years later withFreedom.Freedom is the fifteenth studio album by Santana. By this recording, Santana had nine members, some of whom had returned after being with the band in previous versions, including lead singer on the album Buddy Miles. Freedom moved away from the more poppy sound of the previous albumBeyond Appearances and back to the band's original Latin rock.
Growing weary of trying to appease record company executives with formulaic hit records, Santana took great pleasure in jamming and making guest appearances with notables such as the jazz fusion groupWeather Report, jazz pianistMcCoy Tyner, blues legendJohn Lee Hooker, Frank Franklin,Living Colour guitaristVernon Reid, and West African singerSalif Keita. He andMickey Hart of theGrateful Dead later recorded and performed with Nigerian drummerBabatunde Olatunji, who conceived one of Santana's famous 1960s drum jams, "Jingo". In 1988, Santana organized a reunion with past members from the Santana band for aseries of concert dates. CBS records released a 20-year retrospective of the band's accomplishments withViva Santana!, a double CD compilation. That same year, Santana formed an all-instrumental group featuring jazz legendWayne Shorter on tenor and soprano saxophone. The group also includedPatrice Rushen on keyboards,Alphonso Johnson on bass,Armando Peraza and Chepito Areas on percussion, andLeon "Ndugu" Chancler on drums. They toured briefly and received much acclaim from the music press, who compared the effort with the era ofCaravanserai (1972). Santana released another solo record,Blues for Salvador (1987), which won aGrammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
In 1990, Santana left Columbia Records after twenty-two years and signed withPolygram. The following year he made a guest appearance onOttmar Liebert's album,Solo Para Ti (1991), on the songs "Reaching out 2 U" and on a cover of his own song, "Samba Pa Ti". In 1992, Santana hired thejam bandPhish as his opening act.[31] On his 1992 tour, Santana regularly invited some or all of the members of Phish to jam with his band during his headlining performances.[32][33] Phish also toured with Santana in Europe in 1996.[33]
The lead single grabbed the attention of both fans and the music industry. "Smooth", a dynamiccha-cha stop-start number co-written and sung byRob Thomas ofMatchbox Twenty, is laced throughout with Santana'sguitar fills and runs. The track's energy was immediately apparent on radio, and it was played on a wide variety of station formats. "Smooth" spent twelve weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming in the process the last No. 1 single of the 1990s. The music video, set on a hotbarrio street, was also very popular.Supernatural reached number one on the US album charts and the follow-up single, "Maria Maria", featuring theR&B duothe Product G&B, also hit number one, spending ten weeks there in the spring of 2000.Supernatural eventually shipped over 15 million copies in the United States, and won eightGrammy Awards including Album of the Year, making it Santana's most successful album.
Carlos Santana, alongside the classicSantana lineup of their first two albums, was inducted as an individual into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. During the ceremony he performed "Black Magic Woman" with the writer of the song, Fleetwood Mac's founderPeter Green. Green was inducted the same night.
In early August 2003, Santana was named fifteenth onRolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In 2004, Santana was honored as thePerson of the Year by theLatin Recording Academy.[35]
On April 21, 2005, Santana was honored as aBMI Icon at the 12th annual BMI Latin Awards. Santana was the first songwriter designated a BMI Icon at the company's Latin Awards. The honor is given to a creator who has been "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers".[36]
Santana during a concert in 2005
In 2005,Herbie Hancock approached Santana to collaborate on an album again using theSupernatural formula.Possibilities was released on August 30, 2005, featuring Carlos Santana andAngélique Kidjo on "Safiatou". Also in 2005, fellow Latin starShakira invited Santana to play thesoft rock guitar ballad "Illegal" on her second English-language studio albumOral Fixation, Vol. 2.
In 2008, Santana was reported to be working with his longtime friend, Marcelo Vieira, on his solo albumAcoustic Demos, which was released at the end of the year. It features tracks such as "For Flavia" and "Across the Grave", the latter said to feature heavy melodic riffs by Santana.
Santana performed at the 2009American Idol Finale with the top 13 finalists, which starred many acts such as KISS, Queen and Rod Stewart. On July 8, 2009, Santana appeared at theAthens Olympic Stadium in Athens with his 10-member all-star band as part of his "Supernatural Santana – A Trip through the Hits" European tour. On July 10, 2009, he also appeared atPhilip II Stadium inSkopje. With a 2.5-hour long concert and 20,000 people, Santana appeared for the first time in that region. "Supernatural Santana – A Trip through the Hits" was played through 2011 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
Santana is featured as a playable character in the music video gameGuitar Hero 5. A live recording of his song "No One to Depend On" is included in the game, which was released on September 1, 2009.[37] More recently in 2011, three Santana songs were offered as downloadable content (DLC) for guitar learning softwareRocksmith: "Oye Como Va", "Smooth", and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen". In the same year, Santana received theBillboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award.[38]
In 2012, Santana released an albumShape Shifter consisting of mostly instrumental tracks. On February 23, 2013, there was a public announcement on ultimateclassicrock.com about a reunion of the surviving members (minus Jose "Chepito" Areas) of the Santana band that recordedSantana III in 1971. The next album was titledSantana IV. On May 6, 2014, his first-ever Spanish-language album[41]Corazón was released.
In 2016, Carlos Santana reunited with past Santana band members Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello, Michael Shrieve, and Neil Schon, releasing the albumSantana IV and embarking with the band on a brief tour. A full set from this lineup was filmed at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and released as a live album and DVD titledLive at the House of Blues Las Vegas.
In 2017, Santana collaborated withthe Isley Brothers to release the albumThe Power of Peace on July 28, 2017.
In December 2018, Santana published a guitar lesson onYouTube as part of the online education series MasterClass.[43]
In October 2019, Santana was featured on the American rapperTyga's song "Mamacita" alongside American rapperYG. The song's music video premiered on YouTube on 25 October.
In March 2020, Santana's "Miraculous World Tour" was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[44]
In August 2021, Santana signed a new global record deal withBMG to release his new full-length studio albumBlessings and Miracles.[45] In the same month, he performed in New York'sCentral Park along with Rob Thomas andWyclef Jean.[46]
In August 2023, Santana received some controversy regarding statements he made about trans people, stating "...a woman is a woman and a man is a man".[47] He would apologize a day later for his remarks.[48]
Santana currently uses a Santana II model guitar fitted with PRS Santana III nickel-covered pickups, a tremolo bar, and .009–.042 gaugeD'Addario strings. He also plays a PRS Santana MD "The Multidimensional" guitar.[53] The Santana guitars feature necks made of a single piece of mahogany topped with rosewood fretboard; some feature highly sought-after Brazilianrosewood.[54]
PRS Santana SE "The Multidimensional" guitar (2011)
PRS Santana Retro guitar (2017)
PRS Santana Yellow SE guitar (2017)
Santana also uses a classical guitar, theAlvarez Yairi CY127CE with Alvarez tension nylon strings,[55] and in recent years (from 2009) he uses custom-made, semi-hollow Toru Nittono's "Model-T" Jazz Electric Nylon.[56]
Previous setups include anIbanez Tube Screamer[59] right after the guitar. He is also known to have used anElectro-HarmonixBig Muff distortion for his famous sustain. In the song "Stand Up" from the albumMarathon (1979), Santana uses a Heiltalk box in the guitar solo. He has also used the Audiotech Guitar Products 1x6 Rack Mount Audio Switcher in rehearsals for the 2008 "Live Your Light" tour.
Santana uses two different guitar picks: the large triangular Dunlop he has used for many years, and theV-Pick Freakishly Large Round.
Santana's distinctive guitar tone is produced by PRS Santana signature guitars plugged into multiple amplifiers. The amps consist of aMesa Boogie Mark I, DumbleOverdrive Reverb and more recently a Bludotone amplifier. Santana compares the tonal qualities of each amplifier to that of a singer producing head/nasal tones, chest tones, and belly tones. A three-way amp switcher is employed on Carlos's pedal board to enable him to switch between amps. Often the unique tones of each amplifier are blended together, complementing each other producing a richer tone.
He also put the "Boogie" in Mesa Boogie. Santana is credited with coining the popular Mesa amplifier name when he tried one and exclaimed, "That little thing really Boogies!"[60]
Specifically, Santana combines a Mesa/Boogie Mark I head running through a Boogie cabinet withAltec 417-8H (or recentlyJBL E120s) speakers, and aDumble Overdrive Reverb and/or aDumble Overdrive Special running through a Brown orMarshall 4x12 cabinet withCelestion G12M "Greenback" speakers, depending on the desired sound.Shure KSM-32 microphones are used to pick up the sound, going to thePA. Additionally, aFender Cyber-Twin Amp is mostly used at home.
During his early career, Santana used a GMT transistor amplifier stack and a silverfaceFender Twin. The GMT 226A rig was used at the Woodstock concert as well as during recording Santana's debut album. During this era, Santana also began to use the Fender Twin, which was also used on the debut and later at the recording sessions of Abraxas.
After discoveringChinmoy andYogananda in 1972, Santana quit marijuana until 1981.[62] In 2020, Santana launched his own brand of cannabis named Mirayo that honours "the spiritual and ancient Latin heritage of the plant."[63]
From 1973 to 2007, he was married toDeborah King, daughter of blues musicianSaunders King. They have three children,Salvador, Stella, and Angelica,[64] and co-founded the Milagro (Miracle) Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides financial aid for educational, medical, and other needs.[65][66] He stated in 2000 that he communicates with the angelMetatron.[67] In 2007, King filed for divorce after 34 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.[68] On July 9, 2010, Santana proposed to his touring drummerCindy Blackman on stage during a concert atTinley Park, Illinois. The two were married in December 2010[69][70] and currently live inLas Vegas.[71]
Santana underwentheart surgery in December 2021. He suffered an undisclosed medical emergency on stage at a concert atPine Knob Music Theatre in Michigan on July 5, 2022, but was able to gain consciousness while being helped off the stage.[72] A statement from his publicist later announced that he had collapsed from heat and dehydration, but was being observed at the local hospital and would recover soon. His show scheduled for the day after was postponed.[73] On July 8, 2022, Santana's management company said that he would postpone his next six concerts out of an "abundance of caution for the artist's health".[74]
In an interview withRolling Stone in 2000, Santana spoke of his Christian faith and how it helped to guide him through some of the most troubling times in his life.[75]
^ab"Carlos Santana – the king of World Music".La Voz.24 (34). Denver: La Voz Publishing Company: 11. August 26, 1998.ISSN0746-0988.OCLC9747738.When the family moved to the boom town of Tijuana in 1955, 8-year-old Carlos picked up the guitar, studying and emulating the sounds of B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, and John Lee Hooker. Soon he was playing with local bands like "T.J.'s," where he added his own unique touch and feel to the popular songs of '50s rock 'n' roll. As he continued to play with different bands along the busy "Tijuana Strip," he started to perfect his style and sound.
^Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "205 | Abraxas – Santana". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround.ISBN1-932958-61-4.OCLC70672814. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2006.
^"Material Returns"(PDF).Cash Box. February 21, 1976. p. 48. RetrievedNovember 21, 2021 – via World Radio History.
Leng, Simon (2000).Soul Sacrifice: The Santana Story. London: Firefly Pub.ISBN0-946719-29-2.
McCarthy, Jim (2004).Voices ofLatin Rock: The People and Events That Created This Sound (1st ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp.ISBN0-634-08061-X.Sansoe, Ron, foreword by Carlos Santana
Remstein, Henna.Carlos Santana (Latinos in the Limelight), Chelsea House Publications, 2001, 64 pp.,ISBN0-7910-6473-5
Santana, Deborah (King); Miller, Hal; Faulkner, John (ed.), with a foreword byBill Graham.Santana: A Retrospective of the Santana Band's Twenty Years in Music, San Francisco Mission Cultural Center, 1987, 50 pp., no ISBN.OCLC77798816 Includes a 4-p genealogical tree w/the member's name for every Santana band from 1966. Copy atSFPL
Santana, Deborah (King) (March 1, 2005).Space Between the Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart (1st ed.). New York: One World/Ballantine Books.ISBN978-0345471253.
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