Samba Pa Ti

Carlos Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist and became famous in the late 1960s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band’s sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin rhythms – featuring percussion instruments such as timbales and congas not generally heard in rock music. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.

Rolling Stone Magazine named Santana number 15 on their list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards.

Carlos learned to play the guitar at the age of eight and was influenced by Ritchie Valens at a time when there were few Latinos in American rock and pop music. After moving to San Francisco in the early 1960s he spent several years working as a dish washer in a diner and busking for spare change. Santana then decided to become a full-time musician in 1966 when he formed the Santana Blues Band with fellow street musicians David Brown and Gregg Rolie. With their highly original blend of Latin-infused Rock, Jazz, Salsa and African rhythms, the band 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 Colombia Records, then run by Clive Davis.