Carlos Santana, stage name Santana (Born 20 July 1947), is a Mexican-American, Grammy award winning, rock musician and songwriter, from San Francisco, famous for his work with his Latin-rock fusion band “Santana.”
Santana grew up in Autlán de Navarro Mexico, with his brother Jorge. He learnt to play the guitar at the age of eight, before moving to San Francisco with his family, where he was influenced by watching the likes of BB King and the hippie movement in the city to follow his dreams of being a professional musician.
After spending time as a dishwasher and busking, Santana caught the eye of promoter Bill Graham at an open night jam session in the city. Around this time he formed the Santana Blues Band with some fellow buskers and musicians, which gained a strong local following due to their unique blend of various styles, including rock, jazz, blues and salsa.
Following a triumphant Woodstock show, the newly renamed “Santana” were snapped up by CBS records and quickly released their debut album, also titled “Santana”, which was a success, charting at number four in the charts. This led to a whirlwind of success and line up changes for the band as they released an astounding 11 further albums in the next decade.
Santana has released over 20 studio albums and has won numerous Grammys. Santana is considered by many critics as one of the greatest guitarists in the modern era. Popular music magazine Rolling Stone named Santana as the 20th greatest guitarist of all time. Only further cementing his legendary status, Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 1998.
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