Born 20 July 1947, Autlan de Novarra, Jalisco, Mexico.
Santana is a veteran guitarist noted for his distinctive Tijuana jazz-influenced playing style. Born in Mexico, but resident in the USA from childhood, he has been the leader of the group Santana since 1966. Originally the 'Santana Blues Band' they debuted, as Santana, at Bill Graham's Fillmore West theater in San Francisco on June 16, 1968.
His performance was recorded on film at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969 and, after the breakup of this original group, he worked and recorded with drummer Buddy Miles. Carlos then formed a duo with John McLaughlin, becoming a follower of guru Sri Chinmoy who countenanced them the titles 'Devadip' (the eye, the lamp, the light of God) and 'Mahavishnu' respectively. This duo recorded "Love Devotion Surrender" together. 'Devadip' Carlos Santana then worked with another religious disciple, Turiya Alice Coltrane, widow of John Coltrane. He ended his relationship with Chinmoy followers in 1982.
From 1974 to 1999 Santana performed with a host of renowned musicians, regularly releasing albums over the years. In June 1999 he released Santana - Supernatural, the biggest hit of his career, winning eight Grammy Awards.
Santana was formed originally in 1966 in San Francisco, California. Carlos Santana is a Mexican-born American. Originally named The Santana Blues Band, they rose to international fame when they performed at the Woodstock festival in 1969. This led to their second studio album, Abraxas (1970), becoming a Latin-Rock standard and a huge critical and commercial success. Over the years their line-up has changed constantly, allowing them to evolve with the times. Over 50 musicians have been in Santana over its 40 year history, but the only constant has been Carlos Santana himself. Various successful bands have been spawned by Santana, most notably Journey, formed by keyboardist Gregg Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon, both key members of Santana's early days. Following a brief quiet period in the early 1990s, Santana has returned to stardom by releasing two successful albums featuring various guest vocalists, Shaman and Supernatural.
Santana's original drummer Michael Shrieve was one of the youngest performers at the Woodstock Music Festival in the year 1969 at only 19 years of age.
Carlos Santana is known to use Paul Reed Smith (PRS) custom guitars, though his choice varies according to co-players. On his last album, The Best of Santana, he played a Stratocaster to match with Eric Clapton's Strato-style.
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From Wikipedia:Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill. This initial exposure made their first, eponymous album a hit at the time, followed in the next two years by successful follow-ups Abraxas and Santana III.
Over the next few years, lineup changes were common and although retaining a basis of latin rock, Carlos Santana's increasing involvement with guru Sri Chinmoy took the band further into more esoteric music, which continued for many years, although never quite losing the initial latin influence.
In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Carlos Santana, Jose Chepito Areas, David Brown, Mike Carabello, Gregg Rolie and Michael Shrieve being honored.
Santana has achieved a total of eight Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards which were all awarded in 2000. Carlos also won two Grammy Awards as a solo artist in 1989 and 2003.