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Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966 by Mexican-born guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone various recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Santana being the only consistent member. In 1998, the lineup of Santana, Rolie, Carabello, Shrieve, Brown and Areas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [1]
Santana is one of the best-selling groups of all time with an estimated 100 million albums sold worldwide. [2]
Santana was founded by eponymous guitarist Carlos Santana in late 1966, the band's first line-up included Sergio "Gus" Rodriguez on bass, Danny Haro on drums, and Michael Carabello on percussion. By February 1967, the band were joined by Tom Fraser on guitar and vocals, who also brought in Gregg Rolie on organ and vocals. [3] After losing out on a residency in June 1967, due to members not being committed. Santana and Rolie brought in new musicians.
Bold denotes members of the classic line-up.
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlos Santana | 1966–present |
| all releases | |
Benny Rietveld |
| bass |
| |
Karl Perazzo | 1991–present |
| all release from Milagro (1992) onwards, except Live at the Fillmore 1968 (1997), The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007) and The Woodstock Experience (2009) | |
Andy Vargas | 2000–present |
| all releases from All That I Am (2005) onwards, except The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007) and The Woodstock Experience (2009) | |
Tommy Anthony | 2005–present |
| all releases from Guitar Heaven (2010) onwards | |
David K. Matthews | 2011–present | keyboards | all releases from Corazón (2014) onwards | |
Paoli Mejías | 2013–present |
|
| |
Cindy Blackman Santana | 2015–present | drums |
| |
Ray Greene | 2016–present |
|
|
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gregg Rolie |
|
|
| |
Tom Fraser | 1966–1967 | guitars | none | |
Sergio "Gus" Rodriguez | bass | |||
Danny Haro | drums | |||
Michael Carabello |
|
|
| |
Don Wehr | 1967 | drums | none | |
David Brown |
| bass |
| |
Rod Harper | 1967 | drums | none | |
Marcus Malone | 1967–1969 (died 2021) |
|
| |
Bob Livingston | 1967–1969 | drums | ||
Johnny Rae | 1969 | none | ||
José "Chepito" Areas |
|
|
| |
Michael "Mike" Shrieve |
|
|
| |
Neal Schon |
|
|
| |
Buddy Miles |
|
| Freedom (1987) | |
Pete Escovedo |
|
|
| |
Coke Escovedo | 1971–1972 (died 1986) |
| ||
Rico Reyes | 1971–1972 |
|
| |
Tom Rutley | 1971–1972 |
| Caravanserai (1972) | |
James "Mingo" Lewis | 1971–1973 |
| ||
Victor Pantoja | 1971 |
| none | |
Armando Peraza |
|
| all releases from Caravanserai (1972) to Spirits Dancing in the Flesh (1990) | |
Tom Coster |
|
|
| |
Richard Kermode | 1972–1973 (died 1996) | keyboards |
| |
Doug Rauch | 1972–1974 (died 1979) |
|
| |
Leon Thomas | 1973 (died 1999) | vocals |
| |
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler |
| drums |
| |
Leon Patillo |
|
|
| |
Jules Broussard | 1974–1975 | saxophone |
| |
Greg Walker |
| vocals |
| |
Raul Rekow | 1976–2013 (died 2015) |
| all releases from Festivál (1977) to Shape Shifter (2012), except Live at the Fillmore 1968 (1997), The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007) and The Woodstock Experience (2009) | |
Gaylord Birch |
|
| Festivál (1977) | |
Graham Lear |
| drums | ||
Luther Rabb | 1976 (died 2006) | vocals | none | |
Joel Badie | 1976 | Festivál (1977) | ||
Byron Miller | bass | none | ||
Pablo Tellez | 1976–1977 |
| ||
David Margen | 1977–1982 |
| ||
Chris Solberg | 1978–1980 |
|
| |
Chris Rhyne | 1978–1979 | keyboards | Inner Secrets (1978) | |
Russell Tubbs | 1978 | flute | none | |
Alex Ligertwood |
|
|
| |
Alan Pasqua | 1979–1980 |
|
| |
Orestes Vilató | 1980–1987 |
|
| |
Richard Baker | 1980–1982 | keyboards |
| |
Chester D. Thompson | 1983–2009 |
| all releases from Beyond Appearances (1985) to Shape Shifter (2012), except Live at the Fillmore 1968 (1997), The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007), The Woodstock Experience (2009) and Guitar Heaven (2010) | |
Keith Jones |
| bass | none | |
David Sancious | 1984 |
| Beyond Appearances (1985) | |
Chester C. Thompson | drums | |||
Alphonso Johnson |
| bass |
| |
Sterling Crew | 1985–1986 | keyboards | Freedom (1987) | |
Walfredo Reyes Jr. |
| drums |
| |
Billy Johnson |
|
| ||
Tony Lindsay |
| vocals |
| |
Myron Dove |
|
| Sacred Fire: Live in South America (1993) | |
Vorriece Cooper | 1992–1993 | vocals | ||
Oran Coltrane | 1992 | saxophone | none | |
Rodney Holmes |
| drums | ||
Tommie Bradford | 1994 | |||
Curtis Salgado | 1995 |
| ||
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez | 1997 | drums | Supernatural (1999) | |
Ricky Wellman | none | |||
William "Bill" Ortiz | 1999–2016 | trumpet |
| |
Jeff Cressman | 1999–2016 | trombone | all releases from Supernatural (1999) to Corazón: Live from México - Live It to Believe It (2014) | |
Dennis Chambers | 2002–2013 | drums |
| |
Christopher A. Scott | 2002–2005 |
| none | |
Freddie Ravel | 2009–2010 | keyboards | Guitar Heaven (2010) | |
José "Pepe" Jimenez | 2013–2015 | drums | none |
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.
Abraxas is the second studio album by Latin rock band Santana. It was released on September 23, 1970, by Columbia Records and became the band's first album to reach number one in the United States.
Neal Joseph Schon is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a member of the rock band Santana before forming Journey. He was also a member of the group Bad English during Journey's hiatus from 1987 to 1995, as well as an original member of Hardline.
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana and Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group the Storm, performed in Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band until 2021, and since 2001 with his Gregg Rolie Band. Rolie is a two-time inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, having been inducted both as a member of Santana in 1998 and as a member of Journey in 2017.
The Storm was an American supergroup rock band, formed in the Bay Area of San Francisco during the early 1990s. The band's first single, power ballad "I've Got a Lot to Learn About Love", peaked at #6 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
José Octavio "Chepito" Areas Dávila is a Nicaraguan percussionist best known for having played timbales and Conga drums in the Latin rock group Santana in 1969–1977 and 1987–1989.
Abraxas Pool is a 1997 album by ex-Santana members Mike Shrieve, Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, José "Chepito" Areas, Alphonso Johnson, and Mike Carabello.
Sacred Fire: Live in South America is an album by Santana, released in 1993. This album is dedicated to the life of Cesar Chavez. The title, "Live in South America", is not correct, as the location of the concert production, Mexico City, is not located on the continent of South America.
Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966 by Mexican-born guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone various recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Santana being the only consistent member. After signing with Columbia Records, the band's appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 increased their profile, and they went on to record the commercially successful and critically acclaimed albums Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), and Santana III (1971). These were recorded by the group's "classic" line-up, featuring Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello, Michael Shrieve, David Brown, and José "Chepito" Areas. Hit songs of this period include "Evil Ways", "Black Magic Woman", "Oye Como Va", and the instrumental "Samba Pa Ti".
Michael Carabello is an American musician, best known for playing percussion with Santana during the band's early years. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Santana IV is the twenty-fourth studio album by American rock band Santana, released in April 2016.
The Caravanserai Tour was a series of performances by American Latin rock band Santana in support of their album Caravanserai during 1972 and 1973. It started on September 4, 1972, at the Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival in Griffin, Indiana, and ended on October 21, 1973 at Ginasio Municipal Novo in Brasília, Brazil. This tour could be considered to be the group's most eclectic tour at this point, as the band did concerts at every continent except Africa and Antarctica, including one of the first, if not the first, tours of Latin America by a major American rock act.
The Welcome Tour was a concert tour by Santana promoting their album, Welcome. The tour began on November 13, 1973 at Colston Hall in Bristol, England and ended on October 29, 1974 at the William P. Cole, Jr. Student Activities Building in College Park, Maryland.
The Supernatural Now Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Santana, commemorating the 20th anniversary of their pivotal 1999 album Supernatural and their appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. The tour also supports their most recent album, Africa Speaks.
The Spirits Dancing in the Flesh Tour was the twenty-fourth concert tour by Santana in 1990, supporting the Spirits Dancing in the Flesh album.
A 25–Year Celebration Tour was the twenty-fifth concert tour by Santana in 1991, celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band.
Santana Latin American Tour 2005 was a Latin American concert tour by American rock band Santana in 2005.
William Penn Fyve were a garage rock group from Palo Alto, California who recorded the psychedelic classic "Swami". Their membership included Gregg Rolie and Mickey Hart.