Amigos (Santana album)

Amigos
Studio album by Santana
Released	March 26, 1976
Studio	Wally Heider Studios San Francisco
Genre	Jazz fusion funk rock latin rock rock en Español
Length	41:14
Label	Columbia
Producer	David Rubinson
Santana chronology
Borboletta (1974) Amigos (1976) Festival (1977)
Singles from Amigos
"Let It Shine" Released: 1976

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B [2]
Rolling Stone	(not rated) [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Amigos is the seventh studio album by Santana released in 1976. It generated a minor U.S. hit single in "Let It Shine" and was the band's first album to hit the top ten on the Billboard charts since Caravanserai in 1972 (it ultimately reached gold record status). In Europe, the song "Europa" was released as a single and became a top ten hit in several countries.

New vocalist Greg Walker joined the group. It would be the last Santana album to include original bassist David Brown.

This album has been mixed and released in stereo and quadraphonic.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)" (Leon Chancler, Tom Coster, David Rubinson) – 8:15
2. "Take Me with You" (instrumental)(Leon Chancler, Tom Coster) – 5:27
3. "Let Me" (Tom Coster, Carlos Santana) – 4:51

Side two

1. "Gitano" (Armando Peraza) – 6:13
2. "Tell Me Are You Tired" (Leon Chancler, Tom Coster) – 5:42
3. "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)" (instrumental)(Tom Coster, Carlos Santana) – 5:06
4. "Let It Shine" (David Brown, Ray Gardner) – 5:43

Personnel

• Greg Walker – vocals
• Carlos Santana – guitars, background vocals, percussion, congas, güiro
• Tom Coster – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, ARP Pro Soloist, ARP Odyssey, ARP String Ensemble, Hohner Clavinet D6, background vocals
• David Brown – bass guitar
• Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums, timbales, Remo Rototoms, percussion, congas, background vocals
• Armando Peraza – congas, bongos, background vocals, vocal on "Gitano"
• Ivory Stone – background vocals
• Julia Tillman Waters – background vocals
• Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1976–1977) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [5] 9 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [6] 9 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [7] 9 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [8] 2 Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [9] 9 French Albums (SNEP) [10] 5 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 8 Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [12] 1 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [13] 5 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [14] 8 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [15] 13 Spanish Albums (AFE) [16] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [17] 29 UK Albums (OCC) [18] 13 US Billboard Top LPs & Tape [19] 10 US Soul LPs ( Billboard ) [19] 8

Year-end charts Chart (1976) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [20] 70 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [21] 11 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22] 13 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [23] 35 US Billboard 200 [24] 75

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [25]	Gold	50,000^
France (SNEP) [26]	2× Gold	200,000*
Germany	—	150,000 [27]
Italy	—	160,000 [27]
Netherlands (NVPI) [28]	Gold	35,000 [28]
United Kingdom (BPI) [29]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA) [30]	Gold	500,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Album Design

The album Amigos (1976) was designed by Japanese artist Tadanori Yokoo ^[31] . The cover features a psychedelic-style Mayan man and woman standing on a jungle cliff, surrounded by vintage advertising imagery of drumming “natives,” wild animals, and a looming black void. The interior artwork includes images of Jesus, Buddha, and Kali set against cosmic backdrops, full-bleed gold printing, an Archigram-like diagram of a pyramid concert, and live photographs from a Santana performance.

Yokoo had previously designed the cover for Lotus (1974), which holds the record for the most facings on a gatefold vinyl LP (22). The elaborate packaging, created for Santana’s Tour of Japan recording, was produced by CBS/Sony and cost approximately £30,000 to manufacture. ^[32]

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 12, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
3. Niester, Alan (June 18, 1980). "Santana: Amigos : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Retrieved April 14, 2012.
4. "Santana: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Santana – Amigos" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue CAN1". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Santana – Amigos" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
9. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
10. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2012.Select Santana from the menu, then press OK.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Santana – Amigos" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
12. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 6, 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Santana".
13. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
14. "Charts.nz – Santana – Amigos". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Santana – Amigos". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
16. Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – Santana – Amigos". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
19. "Santana Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved June 6, 2024.
20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue CAN2". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
21. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved November 8, 2021.
22. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1976. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
23. "Top Selling Albums of 1976 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved November 8, 2021.
24. "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard . January 2, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
25. "Canadian album certifications – Santana – Amigos". Music Canada.
26. "French album certifications – Santana – Amigos" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
27. Hennessey, Mike (January 8, 1977). "'Continental' Gold Won By Santana In Europe". Billboard . p. 51. Retrieved August 21, 2021– via Google Books.
28. "From the Musical Capitals of the Worlds-Amsterdam" (PDF). Billboard . January 22, 1977. p. 145. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
29. "British album certifications – Santana – Amigos". British Phonographic Industry.
30. "American album certifications – Santana – Amigos". Recording Industry Association of America.
31. "The Album Design of Yokoo Tadanori". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
32. Yoshida, Hiroko (July 3, 1973). "Most facings on a gatefold vinyl LP - Guiness World Records". Guiness World Records.