Carlos Santana is a popular Mexican rock n’ roll guitarist, known for his melodic blend of rock salsa, blues and jazz fusion.

Born 20^th July 1947, Santana moved to San Francisco at a young age. In 1966 he formed the Santana Blues Band with fellow street musicians David Brown (bassist) and Gregg Rolie (keyboard player), though they soon became known as simply ‘Santana’. They were an instant hit on the San Francisco circuit and their performance at Woodstock in 1969 led to them signing with Columbia Records.

Their debut self-titled album was released in August 1969. It reached number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned the smash hit Evil Ways. This was followed by 1970’s Abraxas, which is now considered the group’s seminal work. It reached number seven in the UK Album Charts and produced the smash hit Black Magic Woman, as well as pushing musical boundaries with the heavy Latin rock version of Tito Puente’s Oye Como Va and instrumental-only tracks like Samba pa Ti and Incident at Neshabur.

The group released eight more albums during the 1970s, and another four in the 1980s, scoring US Top 40 hits with the singles No One to Depend On, She’s Not There, You Know That I Love You, Stormy, Winning and Hold On.

The group’s popularity waned in the late 1980s and early 90s, but they returned to the limelight with the release of the 1999 album Supernatural. Featuring a number of guest artists like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Lauryn Hill, the album sold over fifteen million copies in the US alone and won nine Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Three singles were released, with two going to number one on the Billboard Hot 100: Smooth (ft. Rob Thomas) and Maria Maria (ft. The Product G&B). Subsequent albums have seen them continue to enjoy collaborative success, working with artists such as Dido, Sean Paul, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.

Since 1972 Carlos Santana has also enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing a total of nine albums to date and selling million of copies worldwide.