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Carlos Augusto Alves
Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican-born American Grammy
Award-winning rock musician and guitarist. Santana became famous in the
late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered a
blend of rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band's sound featured his
melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin percussion such as
timbales and congas. Santana continued to work in these forms over the
following decades. He experienced a sudden resurgence of popularity and
critical acclaim in the late 1990s. Rolling Stone also named Santana
number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in
2003.[1]
Considering (at least) the albums
Santana, Abraxas, Zebop!, Supernatural and Shaman, Carlos Santana is the only
musician to reach the top ten on Billboard 200 for five consecutive decades with
non-compilation albums.
****
Background information
Birth name Carlos Augusto Alves
Santana
Born July 20, 1947 (1947-07-20)
(age 62)
Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico
Genres rock, jazz fusion, blues
rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, Percussion,
Vocals
Years active 1966–present
Labels Arista, Polydor, Columbia
Associated acts Santana
Website Carlos Santana.com
Notable instruments
PRS Santana II
Yamaha SG175
****
Biography
Early
life
Santana was born in Autlán de
Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico. His father was a mariachi violinist, and Carlos
learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight. Young Carlos
was heavily influenced by Ritchie Valens at a time when there were very few
Latinos in American rock and pop music. The family moved from Autlán de Navarro
to Tijuana, the border city between Mexico and California, and then San
Francisco. Carlos stayed in Tijuana but joined his family in San Francisco later
and graduated from James Lick Middle School and Mission High School there. He
graduated from Mission High in 1965. Javier batiz a famous guitarist from
Tijuana Mexico, is said to be Carlo's guitar teacher who taught him to play a
different style of guitar soloing. After learning Batiz's techniques, Santana
would make them his own as well.[2]
In San Francisco, he got the chance
to see his idols, most notably B.B. King, perform live. He was also introduced
to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz, world music, and folk
music, and witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in
the 1960s. After several years spent working as a dishwasher in a diner and
busking for spare change on the streets, Santana decided to become a full-time
musician; in 1966, he formed the Santana Blues Band, with fellow street
musicians, David Brown and Gregg Rolie (bassist and keyboard player,
respectively).[2]
With their highly original blend of
Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa, and African rhythms, the band (which
quickly became known simply as Santana) gained an immediate following on the San
Francisco strip club. The band's early success, capped off by a memorable
performance at Woodstock in 1969, led to a recording contract with Columbia
Records, then run by Clive Davis.[citation needed]
Santana
to Caravanserai
Santana was signed by CBS Records
and went into the studio to record their first album. They were not satisfied
with the release and realized changes needed to be made. This resulted in the
dismissal of Bob Livingston. Santana replaced him with Mike Shrieve, who had a
strong background in both jazz and rock. Marcus Malone was forced to quit the
band due to personal problems, and the band re-enlisted Michael Carabello.
Carabello brought with him percussionist Jose Chepito Areas, who was already
well-known in his country, Nicaragua, and, with his skills and professional
experience, was a major contributor to the band.
Bill Graham, who had been a fan of
the band from the start, convinced the promoters of the Woodstock Music and Art
Festival to let them appear before their first album was even released. They
were one of the surprises of the festival; their set was legendary and, later,
the exposure of their eleven-minute instrumental "Soul Sacrifice" in the
Woodstock film and soundtrack albums vastly increased Santana's popularity.
Graham also gave the band some key advice to record the Willie Bobo song "Evil
Ways", as he felt it would get them radio airplay. Their first album, simply
titled Santana, became a huge hit, reaching number four on the U.S. album
charts, and the catchy single "Evil Ways" reached number nine on the Billboard
Hot 100.
In 1970, the group reached its
early commercial peak with their second album, Abraxas, which reached number one
on the album charts and went on to sell over four million copies. Instrumental
in the production of the album was pianist Alberto Gianquinto, who advised the
group to stay away from lengthy percussion jams and concentrate on tighter song
structures. The innovative Santana musical blend made a number-four hit out of
the English band Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" and a number-thirteen hit
out of salsa legend Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va". Carlos Santana, alongside the
classic Santana lineup of their first two albums, was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He performed "Black Magic Woman" with the writer of
the song, Fleetwood Mac's founder Peter Green. Green was inducted the same
night.
However, Woodstock and the band's
sudden success 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 basic hard rock sound
which had established the band in the first place. Santana on the other hand,
was growing musically beyond his love of blues & rock and wanted more jazzy,
ethereal elements in the music, which were influenced by his fascination with
Miles Davis and John Coltrane, as well as his growing interest in spirituality
and meditation. To further complicate matters, Chepito Areas was stricken with a
near-fatal brain hemorrhage, and Santana wanted the band to continue performing
by finding a temporary replacement (first Willie Bobo, then Coke 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.
Teenage San Francisco Bay Area
guitar prodigy Neal Schon was asked to join the band in 1971, though, at the
time, he was also invited by Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominos.
Choosing Santana, he joined 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
group Tower of Power's horn section, Luis Gasca of Malo, and a number of friends
who helped with percussion and vocals, injecting more energy to the proceedings.
Santana III was another success, reaching number one on the album charts,
selling two million copies, and yielding the hits "Everybody's Everything" and
"No One to Depend On".
But tension in the band continued.
Along with musical differences, drug use became a problem, and Santana was
deeply worried 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. A South American tour was cut short in Lima, Peru, due
to student protests against U.S. governmental policies and unruly fans. The
madness of the tour convinced Santana that changes needed to be made in the band
and in his life.
In January 1972, Santana, Neal
Schon and Coke Escovedo joined former Band of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles for a
concert at Hawaii's Diamond Head Crater, which was recorded for a live album.
The performance was erratic and uneven, but the album managed to achieve
gold-record status on the weight of Santana's popularity.
In early 1972, Santana and the
remaining members of the band started working on their fourth album,
Caravanserai. During the studio sessions, Santana and Michael 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 replacing David Brown. Also assisting on keyboards were Wendy Haas and Tom
Coster. With the unsettling influx of new players in the studio, Gregg Rolie and
Neal Schon decided that it was time to leave after the completion of the album,
even though both made spectacular contributions to the session. Rolie left and
went home to Seattle, opening a restaurant with his father, and later became a
founding member of Journey (which Schon would later join as well).
When Caravanserai did emerge in
1972, it marked a strong change in musical direction towards jazz fusion. The
album received critical praise, but CBS executive Clive Davis warned Santana and
the band that it would sabotage the band's position as a Top Forty act.
Nevertheless, over the years, the album would achieve platinum status. The
difficulties Santana and the band went through during this period were
chronicled in Ben Fong-Torres' Rolling Stone cover story "The Resurrection of
Carlos Santana".
Around this time, Santana met
Deborah King, whom he later married in 1973. She is the daughter of the late
blues singer and guitarist Saunders King. They have three children: Salvador,
Stella and Angelica. Together with wife Deborah, Santana founded a
not-for-profit organization, the Milagro Foundation, which provides financial
aid for educational, medical, and other needs.
Spiritual journey
In 1972, Santana became a huge fan
of the pioneering fusion band The Mahavishnu Orchestra and its guitarist John
McLaughlin. Aware of Santana's interest in meditation, McLaughlin introduced
Santana and Deborah to his guru, Sri Chinmoy. Chinmoy accepted them as disciples
in 1973. Santana was given the name "Devadip" - meaning "The lamp, light and eye
of God." Santana and McLaughlin recorded an album together, Love, Devotion,
Surrender with members of Santana and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, along with
percussionist Don Alias and organist Larry Young, who both had made appearances
on Miles Davis' classic Bitches Brew in 1969.
In 1973, Santana, having obtained
legal rights to the band's name, formed a new version of Santana, with Armando
Peraza and Chepito Areas on percussion, Doug Rauch on bass, Michael Shrieve on
drums, and Tom Coster and Richard Kermode on keyboards. Santana was later able
to recruit jazz vocalist Leon Thomas for a tour of Japan, which was recorded for
the live, sprawling, high-energy fusion album Lotus. CBS records would not allow
its release unless the material was condensed. Santana did not agree to those
terms, and the album was available in the U.S. only as an expensive, imported,
three-record set. The group later went into the studio and recorded Welcome,
which further reflected Santana's interests in jazz fusion and his commitment to
the spiritual life of Sri Chinmoy.
Santana claimed to become a
born-again Christian (date unknown) and produced an album in 1992 —with songs
about Jesus Christ, called Milagro.
In 2008 he told Rolling Stone
magazine in an interview that he would hear Jesus' voice comforting him when he
was becoming suicidal.[3]
Shifting styles in the 1970s
A collaboration with John
Coltrane's widow, Alice Coltrane -Illuminations followed. The album delved into
avant-garde esoteric free jazz, Eastern Indian and classical influences with
other ex-Miles Davis sidemen Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland. Soon after,
Santana replaced his band members again. This time Kermode, Thomas and Rauch
departed from the group and were replaced by vocalist Leon Patillo (later a
successful Contemporary Christian artist) and returning bassist David Brown. He
also recruited soprano saxophonist, Jules Broussard to the lineup. The band
recorded one studio album Borboletta, which was released in 1974. Drummer Leon
'Ndugu' Chancler later joined the band as a replacement for Michael Shrieve, who
left to pursue a solo career. For a time, he employed the services of famed Jaco
Pastorius on bass guitar who added more of a funk groove to his newer jazz
sound.
By this time, the Bill Graham's
management company had assumed the affairs of the group. Graham was critical of
Santana's direction into jazz and felt he needed to concentrate on getting
Santana back into the charts with the edgy, street-wise ethnic 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 and jazz fusion circles, sales had plummeted.
Santana along with Tom Coster,
producer David Rubinson, and Chandler formed yet another version of Santana,
adding vocalist Greg Walker. The 1976 album Amigos, which featured the songs
"Dance, Sister, Dance" and "Let It Shine", had a strong funk and Latin sound.
The album also received considerable airplay on FM album-oriented rock stations
with the instrumental "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)" and re-introduced
Santana back into the charts. Rolling Stone Magazine ran a second cover story on
Santana entitled "Santana Comes Home".
The albums conceived through the
late 1970s followed the same formula, although with several lineup changes.
Among the personnel who came and left the band was percussionist Raul Rekow, who
joined in early 1977 and remains to this day. Most-notable of the band's
commercial efforts of this era was a version of the 1960s Zombies hit, "She's
Not There", on the 1977 album Moonflower.
The relative success of the band's
albums in this era allowed Santana to pursue a solo career funded by CBS. First,
Oneness, Silver Dreams, Golden Reality in 1979 and The Swing of Delight in 1980,
which featured some of his musical heroes: Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron
Carter and Tony Williams from Miles Davis' legendary 1960s quintet.
The pressures and temptations of
being a high-profile rock musician and requisites of the spiritual lifestyle
which guru Sri Chinmoy and his followers demanded, were great sources of
conflict to Santana's lifestyle and marriage. He was becoming increasingly
disillusioned with what he thought was Chinmoy's often-unreasonable rules
imposed on his life, in particular, 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.
The
1980s
More radio-pleasing singles
followed from Santana and the band. "Winning" in 1981 and "Hold On" ( a remake
of Canadian artist Ian 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 producer Jerry Wexler. The 1983 album
revisited Santana's early musical experiences in Tijuana with Bo Diddley's "Who
Do You Love" and the title cut, Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon". The album's guests
included Booker T. Jones, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Willie Nelson and even
Santana's father's mariachi orchestra. Santana again paid tribute to his early
rock roots by doing the film score to La Bamba, which was based on the
tragically short life of rock and roll legend Ritchie Valens and starred Lou
Diamond Philips.
Although the band had concentrated
on trying to produce albums with commercial appeal during the 1980s, changing
tastes in popular culture began to reflect in the band's sagging record sales of
their latest effort Beyond Appearances. In 1985, Bill Graham had to once again
pull strings for Santana to convince principal Live Aid concert organizer Bob
Geldof to allow the band to appear at the festival. The group's high-energy
performance proved why they were still a top concert draw the world over despite
their poor performance on the charts. Personally, Santana retained a great deal
of respect in both jazz and rock circles, with Prince and guitarist Kirk Hammett
of Metallica citing him as an influence.
The band Santana returned in 1986
with a new album Freedom. Buddy Milles, who was trying to revive his music
career after spending much of the late 1970s and early 1980s incarcerated for
drug charges, returned for lead vocals. His onstage presence provided a dose of
charisma to the show; but, once again, the sales of the album fell flat.
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 group Weather Report, jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, Blues legend John Lee
Hooker, Frank Franklin, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, and West African
singer Salif Keita. He and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead later recorded and
performed with Nigerian drummer Babatunde 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 a series of concert dates. CBS
records released a 20-year retrospective of the band's accomplishments with Viva
Santana.
That same year Santana formed an
all-instrumental group featuring jazz legend Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano
sax. The group also included Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Alphonso Johnson on
bass, Armando Peraza and Chepito Areas on percussion, and Leon 'Ndugu' Chanckler
on drums. They toured briefly and received much acclaim from the music press,
who compared the effort with the era of Caravanserai. Santana released another
solo record, Blues for Slavador, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rock
Instrumental Performance.
In 1990, Santana left Columbia
Records after twenty-two years and signed with Polygram. The following year, he
made a guest appearance on Ottmar Liebert's album Solo Para Ti, on the songs
"Reaching out 2 U" and on a cover of his own song, "Samba Pi Ti". In 1992,
Santana hired jam band Phish as his opening act. He remains close to the band
today, especially to guitarist Trey Anastasio.
Return
to commercial success
Santana's record sales in the 1990s
were very low. Toward the end of the decade he was without a contract. However,
Arista Records' Clive Davis, who had worked with Santana at Columbia Records,
signed him and encouraged him to record a star-studded album with mostly younger
artists. The result was 1999's Supernatural, which included collaborations with
Everlast, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean,
Cee-Lo, Maná, Dave Matthews, K. C. Porter, J. B. Eckl, and others.
However, the lead single was what
grabbed the attention of both fans and the music industry. "Smooth", a dynamic
cha-cha stop-start number co-written and sung by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty,
was laced throughout with Santana's guitar 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 #1 single of the 1990s. The music video,
set on a hot barrio street, was also very popular. Supernatural reached number
one on the US album charts and the follow-up single, "Maria Maria", featuring
the R&B duo The Product G&B, also hit number one, spending ten weeks there in
the spring of 2000. Supernatural eventually sold over 15 million copies in the
United States, making it Santana's biggest sales success by far.
In 2000 Supernatural won nine
Grammy Awards (eight for Santana personally), including Album of the Year,
Record of the Year for "Smooth", and Song of the Year for Thomas and Itaal Shur.
Santana's acceptance speeches described his feelings about music's place in
one's spiritual existence. Later that year at the Latin Grammy Awards he won
three awards including Record of the Year. In 2001, Santana's guitar skills were
featured in Michael Jackson's song "Whatever Happens", from the album
Invincible.
In 2002, Santana released Shaman,
revisiting the Supernatural format of guest artists including P.O.D. and Seal.
Although the album was not the runaway success its predecessor had been, it
produced two radio-friendly hits. "The Game of Love" featuring Michelle Branch,
rose to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent many weeks at the top of
the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and "Why Don't You & I" written by and
featuring Chad Kroeger from the group Nickelback (the original and a remix with
Alex Band from the group The Calling were combined towards chart performance)
which reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. "The Game of Love" went on
to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
In August 2003, Santana was named
fifteenth on Rolling Stone magazine's "List of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of
All Time".
In 2005, Herbie Hancock approached
Santana to collaborate on an album again using the Supernatural formula.
Possibilities was released on August 30, 2005, featuring Carlos Santana and
Angélique Kidjo on "Safiatou". Also, in 2005, the fellow Latin star Shakira
invited Santana to play soft rock guitar ballad Illegal on her second
English-language studio album Oral Fixation Vol. 2.
Santana's 2005 album All That I Am
consisting primarily of collaborations with other artists; the first single, the
peppy "I'm Feeling You", was again with Michelle Branch and The Wreckers. Other
musicians joining the mix this time included Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Kirk
Hammett from Metallica, hip-hop/reggae star Sean Paul and R&B singer Joss Stone.
In April and May 2006, Santana toured Europe, where he promoted his son Salvador
Santana's band as his opening act.
In 2007, Santana appeared, along
with Sheila E. and José Feliciano, on Gloria Estefan's album 90 Millas, on the
single "No Llores". He also teamed again with Chad Kroeger for the hit single
"Into the Night."
On October 19, 2007, his wife of 34
years, Deborah, filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences".[4]
In 2008, Santana started working
with his long-time friend, Marcelo Vieira, on his solo album Marcelo Vieira's
Acoustic Sounds, which is due to be released at the end of the year. It features
tracks such as "For Flavia" and "Across the Grave", the later featuring heavy
melodic riffs by Santana.
Carlos Santana performed at the
2009 American Idol Finale with the top 13 finalists, which starred many acts
such as KISS, Queen and Rod Stewart. On July 8, 2009, Carlos Santana appeared at
the Athens 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 at Philip II Stadium in Skopje, Macedonia. With 2.5 hours
concert and 20 000 people, Santana appeared for the first time in that region.
"Supernatural Santana - A Trip through the Hits" is currently playing at The
Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, where it will play through the end 2009.
Santana is featured as a playable
character in the music video game Guitar Hero 5. A live recording of his song
"No One To Depend On" is included in game, which was released on September 1.[5]
Carlos has recently opened a chain
of upscale Mexican restaurants called "Maria Maria". It is a combined effort
with renowned Chef Roberto Santibanez. They are located in Tempe AZ, Mill Valley
& Walnut Creek CA, and Austin TX, and soon to Boca Raton FL. http://www.mariamariarestaurants.com/
Influences
Around the age of 8, Santana "fell
under the influence" of blues performers like B.B. King and John Lee Hooker.[1]
He also credits Jimi Hendrix as an important influence.[2].
Equipment
Guitars
In the mid 1970's, Carlos Santana
endorsed a lot of musical equipment, including the Gibson L-6S, and Mesa Boogie
amplifiers. He was featured in several Gibson advertisements throughout the
decade. Santana played a red Gibson SG Special with P-90 pickups at the
Woodstock festival. Then he switched between the P90 SG and a regular Humbucker
SG until 1972 when he usually played a standard or a custom maple top Les Paul.
From 1976 until 1982 his main guitar was a Yamaha SG 175B and sometimes a white
Gibson SG Custom with 3 open coil pick-ups. In 1982 he started to use a custom
made PRS guitar, which became his main instrument around 1988. On "Supernatural"
he used a custom made PRS guitar for the majority of the tracks.
Santana currently endorses PRS
Guitars, and is in fact one of Paul Reed Smith's first customers. He uses a
Santana II model guitar using PRS Santana III pickups with nickel covers and a
tremolo, with .009-.042 gauge D'Addario strings.[6] His Signature Series models
vary greatly from this in some cases, such as the Santana SE and Santana III
guitars (which have ceased production). The Santana III has covered pickups
instead, and no abalone stringers between the pickups (a feature unique to his
official guitar). The Santana SE guitar has 22 frets, tremolo, a basic sunburst
top, and a pickguard.
Santana's guitar necks and
fretboards are constructed out of a single solid piece of Brazilian Rosewood,[7]
instead of the more traditional mahogany neck/Indian rosewood fretboard
combination found in stock Santana models and other PRS guitars.[8] The
Brazilian Rosewood helps create the smooth, singing, glass-like tone that he is
famous for.
Carlos Santana also uses a
classical guitar, the Alvarez Yairi CY127CE with Alvarez tension nylon
strings.[9]
In January 2008, Carlos Santana
unveiled the new Signature Model PRS Santana MD. Santana introduced the very
latest PRS signature model, the Santana MD, and its "multi-dimensional" Voice
Control. Also shared was Santana's appreciation of Paul Smith's "vision of
sound." The Santana MD has all the latest Santana model updates - pickups, knob
placement, inlays, tuners and a Mastering Voice Control for early '60s single
coil sounds that don't hum. With this model Carlos returns to the basics in his
sound like the Woodstock rock festival back in 1969, but with the new technology
provided by PRS Guitars. In keeping with the "best of all possible worlds"
theme, the PRS Santana MD guitar includes classic features from previous Santana
guitars, like the traditional "Santana wide fat" neck shape, Rosewood fretboard,
and Mahogany body with carved flame Maple top and Abalone purfling. However,
there are changes as well. Most notably, the positions of the controls have been
altered. While the 3-way pickup selector switch and Tone knob are still roughly
between the tailpiece and the bridge, the Volume knob has been shifted to a
position right next to the bridge pickup. This makes it easier to control the
volume while playing, which Santana likes to do. The new mini-toggle is in
between the two knobs. Carlos made a new album with his new PRS Santana
Signature MD, the album is called Ultimate .
In 21 August 2009, Carlos Santana
in the guitar player's publication "Classic Rock Lead Guitar" introduce the new
Signature guitar, PRS Santana Abraxas SE. This guitar the second Santana SE
model, with totally new unique and unexpected( for his signature) design. This
guitar has a single cutaway, classic PRS headstock, 22 frets, no tremolo bridge,
single micro humbucker, pickguard and goes with recognized Abraxas Angel logo on
the guitar body, Santana's name on the headstock, Carlos's personal signature on
the back of the body and the hippie sign "Peace" on the 12th fret. Like the PRS
Santana SE( which have ceased production), this model Paul Reed Smith Santana
Abraxas SE is a student-edition guitar meant to increase the affordability of
PRS-brand guitars.
Effects
For the distinctive Santana
electric guitar sound, Santana does not use many effects pedals. His PRS guitar
is connected to a Mu-Tron wah wah pedal (or, more recently, a Dunlop 535Q wah)
and a T-Rex Replica delay pedal,[10][11] then through a customized Jim Dunlop
amp switcher which in turn is connected to the different amps or cabinets.
Previous setups include an Ibanez
Tube Screamer[12] right after the guitar.
In the song "Stand Up" from the
album Marathon, Santana uses a Heil talk box in the guitar solo.
Amplifiers
The Santana lead guitar tone is
produced by a humbucker equipped guitar (Gibson/Yamaha/PRS) into a small but
effective preamp (consisting of Gain & Master Volume controls) for the Mesa
Boogie [ref. as above]. He also literally put the Boogie in Mesa Boogie:
'Santana exclaimed to Smith, "Shit, man. That little thing really Boogies!" It
was this statement that brought the Boogie name to fruition.'
Specifically, Santana combines a
Mesa/Boogie Mark I head running through a Boogie cabinet with Altec 417-8H (or
recently JBL E120s) speakers, and a Dumble Overdrive Reverb and/or a Dumble
Overdrive Special running through a Brown or Marshall 4x12 cabinet with
Celestion G12M "Greenback" speakers, depending on the desired sound. Shure
KSM-32 microphones are used to pick up the sound, going to the PA. Additionally,
a Fender Cyber-Twin Amp is mostly used at home.
Discography
Albums
with the band Santana
Santana (1969) US: 2x
Multi-Platinum[13]
Abraxas (1970) US: 5x
Multi-Platinum[13]
Santana III, (1971) US: 2x
Multi-Platinum[13]
Caravanserai (1972) US:
Platinum[13]
Welcome (1973) US: Gold[13]
Lotus (1974) (Live)
Borboletta (1974) US: Gold[13]
Amigos (1976) US: Gold[13]
Festival (1977) US: Gold[13]
Moonflower (1977) (Live/Studio) US:
2x Multi-Platinum[13]
Inner Secrets (1978) US: Gold[13]
Marathon (1979) US: Gold[13]
Zebop! (1981) US: Platinum[13]
Shango (1982) US: Gold[13]
Beyond Appearances (1985)
Freedom (1987)
Viva Santana! (1988) (Live/Studio
compilation)
Spirits Dancing in the Flesh (1990)
(compilation)
Milagro (1992)
Sacred Fire: Live in South America
(1993) (Live)
Live at the Fillmore '68 (1997)
(Live)
Supernatural (1999) US: 15x
Multi-Platinum[13]
The Essential Santana (2002)
(compilation)
Shaman (2002) US: 2x
Multi-Platinum[13]
All That I Am (2005) US: Gold[13]
The Woodstock Experience (2009)
(Live)
Albums as a solo artist or in
collaborations
Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!
(1972; with Buddy Miles) US: Platinum[14]
Love Devotion Surrender (1973; with
John McLaughlin) US: Gold[14]
Illuminations (1974; with Alice
Coltrane)
Oneness: Silver Dreams, Golden
Reality (1979)
The Swing of Delight (1980)
Havana Moon (1983; with Booker T &
the MGs, Willie Nelson, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds)
Blues for Salvador (1987)
Santana Brothers (1994; C.S. with
Jorge Santana & Carlos Hernandez)
Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter -
Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1988 (2007)
Unofficial releases
Samba Pa Ti (1988)
Persuasion (1989)
Latin Tropical (1990)
Santana (1990)
The Big Jams (1991)
Santana Jam (1994)
With a Little Help from My Friends
(1994)
Jin-Go-Lo-Ba (1994)
Soul Sacrifice (1995)
Santana Live (????)
Jingo and more famous tracks (????)
Singles
1969: "Jingo" #56 US
1969: "Evil Ways" #9 US
1971: "Black Magic Woman" #4 US
1971: "Oye Como Va" #13 US
1971: "Everybody's Everything" #12
US
1972: "No One to Depend On" #36 US
1974: "Samba Pa Ti" #27 UK
1976: "Let It Shine" #77 US
1977: "She's Not There" #27 US, #11
UK
1978: "Well All Right" #69 US
1979: "One Chain (Don't Make No
Prison)" #59 US
1979: "Stormy" #32 US
1980: "You Know That I Love You"
#35 US
1981: "Winning" #17 US
1981: "The Sensitive Kind" #56 US
1982: "Hold On" #15 US
1982: "Nowhere to Run" #66 US
1985: "Say It Again" #46 US
1999: "Put Your Lights on"
(featuring Erik Schrody)
1999: "Smooth" (featuring Rob
Thomas) #1 US, #3 UK (charted in 2000)
2000: "Maria Maria" (featuring The
Product G&B) #1 US, #6 UK
2002: "The Game of Love" (featuring
Michelle Branch) #5 US, #16 UK
2003: "Nothing at All" (featuring
Musiq Soulchild)
2003: "Feels Like Fire" (featuring
Dido) #26 NZ
2003: "Why Don't You & I"
(featuring Alex Band) #8 US
2005: "I'm Feeling You" (featuring
Michelle Branch) #55 US
2005: "Just Feel Better" (featuring
Steven Tyler) #8 AUS
2006: "Cry Baby Cry" (featuring
Sean Paul and Joss Stone) #71 UK
2006: "Illegal" (Shakira featuring
Carlos Santana) #4 ITA, #11 GER
2007: "No Llores" (Gloria Estefan
featuring Carlos Santana, José Feliciano and Sheila E.)
2007: "Into the Night" (featuring
Chad Kroeger) #2 CAN, #5 SA, #5 Italy, #19 Germany, #26 US
2008: "This Boy's Fire" (featuring
Jennifer Lopez with Baby Bash)
2008: "Fuego en el Fuego" (Eros
Ramazzotti featuring Carlos Santana) #19 Spain
Note: The singles Smooth, Maria
Maria, and Into The Night have each been certified Platinum by the RIAA.[15]
Videos
Carlos Santana—Influences (video)
Sacred Fire. Live in Mexico. (video
& DVD)
Supernatural (video & DVD)
Viva Santana (DVD)
Santana Live By Request (DVD)
Tribute
albums
Ed Calle: Ed Calle Plays Santana
(Universal Latino, 2004)
References
1.
^ The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time;
Rolling Stone
2.
^ a b Ruhlmann, William (2003). "Carlos
Santana > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gjfpxqrgldte~T1.
Retrieved 2009-06-25.
3.
^ http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23356489/carlos_cosmic_bummer/3
4.
^ "Carlos Santana's wife of 34 years files
for divorce" - CNN - November 2, 2007
5.
^ "Carlos Santana Grooves in Guitar Hero 5,
which included the song black magic woman". idiomag. 2009-07-21. http://www.idiomag.com/peek/92605/carlos_santana.
Retrieved 2009-07-24.
6.
^ Santana - Musician's Corner - Blue Guitar
7.
^ Santana - Musician's Corner - Red Guitar
8.
^ PRS Guitars - Santana III
9.
^ Santana - Musician's Corner - Acoustic
Guitar
10.
^ His rig can be seen in a magazine article
cited at T-Rex's website
11.
^ "Carlos Santana Spreads the Gospel of
Tone" by Darrin Fox, Guitar Player Magazine, June edition 2005.
12.
^ Overview of Santana's old effects setup.
13.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p RIAA Gold
and Platinum Search for albums by Santana
14.
^ a b RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for
albums by Carlos Santana
15.
^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for singles
by Santana
****
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