Carlos Santana Biography

Carlos Santana was born in 1947 in Mexico. His father was a mariachi player, and so the young Carlos began following in his father’s footsteps, learning the violin as a child. By the time he was eight, he began guitar lessons, and when the family moved to Tijuana, he began performing in local bars. In the early 1960’s, the Santana family moved to San Francisco, and Carlos finished out his high school education there.

Carlos Santana founded the Santana Blues Band in 1966, alongside fellow musicians Gregg Rolie (keyboards and vocals), Michael Shrieve (drums), David Brown (bass), Jose "Chepito" Areas (percussion), and Michael Carabello (percussion). They eventually changed the name to simply Santana, and debuted in 1968 at the Fillmore. Immediately following, they found themselves with a recording contract and a self-titled debut album, which rocketed to the top of the charts after their performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

The album Abraxas followed in 1970, and then Santana III in 1971. Shortly thereafter, the group members went their separate ways, although Carlos Santana continued the band, releasing a live performance recording in 1972. Caravanserai followed in the same year, and then Love Devotion Surrender in 1973, an album recorded as a duo with John McLaughlin. The album went gold, and Carlos Santana continued with additional releases throughout the remainder of the decade: Borboletta (1974), Amigos (1975), Festival (1976), Moonflower (1977), and Inner Secrets (1978.)

Carlos Santana released his first genuine solo album in 1979, Oneness/Silver Dreams – Golden Reality.  Havana Moon came next in 1983, reaching into the Top 40, and in 1986 Santana accepted a role as composer for the film La Bamba, based on the life of Ritchie Valens. The album Blues for Salvador came next in 1987, and the title track earned Santana a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Dancing in the Flesh came in 1990, and Carlos Santana continued to record both with the band Santana and as a solo artist for the rest of the decade.

It was the album Supernatural which truly placed Carlos Santana on the map as one of the era’s most notable musicians. The album sold over fifteen million copies and earned Santana nine Grammys, including Album and Record of the Year. The single “Smooth” became an extraordinarily successful hit, and paved the way for Shaman, which Santana released in 2002.

Carlos Santana continues to perform and record. In 2013, he reunited Santana’s original lineup for the album Santana IV (2016), and in 2014 he released the studio album Corazon. The live album, Santana IV: Live at the House of Blues Las Vegas, arrived later in the same year.