Background and career
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (Spanish: [ˈkaɾlos umˈbeɾto sanˈtana βaraˈɣan] ; born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican and 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.
In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists. In 2023, Rolling Stone named him the 11th greatest guitarist of all time. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro in Jalisco, Mexico, on July 20, 1947. He learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight, under the tutelage of his father, who was a mariachi musician. His younger brother, Jorge, also became a professional guitarist.
The family moved from Autlán to Tijuana, on the border with the United States. Carlos' rock and roll career started in the city park, Parque Teniente Guerrero, where his mother took him to see the Los TJ's, the pioneer Tijuana rock and roll band formed by Javier Bátiz. Carlos became a roadie for the group at age 12 and eventually joined as a bass player, playing bass because Bátiz was playing guitar. He later left so he could play guitar in another bar band. Los TJ's and Bátiz exposed Carlos to blues music, especially that of T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, and James Brown.
The Santanas then moved to San Francisco, where his father had steady work. In October 1966, Santana started the Santana Blues Band. By 1968, the band had begun to incorporate different types of influences into their electric blues. Santana later said, "If I would go to some cat's room, he'd be listening to Sly [Stone] and Jimi Hendrix; another guy to the Stones and the Beatles. Another guy'd be listening to Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaría. Another guy'd be listening to Miles [Davis] and [John] Coltrane ... To me it was like being at a university."
How Carlos Santana makes money
Santana later was able to recruit jazz vocalist Leon Thomas for the tour supporting Caravanserai in Japan on July 3 and 4, 1973, which was recorded for the 1974 live, sprawling, high-energy triple vinyl LP fusion album Lotus. In February 1976, Santana was presented with fifteen gold discs in Australia, representing sales in excess of 244,000.
