Delivered with a level of passion and soul equal to the legendary sonic charge of his guitar, the sound of Carlos Santana is one of the world’s best-known musical signatures. For more than four decades – from Santana’s earliest days as a groundbreaking Afro-Latin-blues-rock fusion outfit in San Francisco – Santana has been the visionary force behind artistry that transcends musical genres and generational, cultural and geographical boundaries.
Santana’s star arrived in the era-defining late 1960s San Francisco Bay Area music scene with historic shows at the Fillmore and other venues. They emerged onto the global stage with an epic set at “Woodstock ’69,” the same year that their self-titled debut LP came out. Introducing Santana’s first Top 10 hit, “Evil Ways,” the disc stayed on Billboard’s album chart for two years and was soon followed by two more classics — and Billboard #1 albums — “Abraxas” and “Santana III”.
More than 40 years and as many albums later, Santana has sold more than 100 million records. To date, Santana has won ten Grammy® Awards, including a record-tying nine for a single project, 1999’s “Supernatural” (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Smooth”). In 1998, the group was ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Carlos Santana received Billboard Latin Music Awards’ 2009 Lifetime Achievement honor; and, he was given Billboard’s Century Award in 1996. Among many other honors, Carlos Santana has also been cited by Rolling Stone as #15 on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”
The music of Santana has been celebrated with a two-DVD and Blu-ray set entitled SANTANA: Greatest Hits Live at Montreux 2011. His last CD, “Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time”, was Santana’s 29th Billboard Top 200 charting release, 12th Top 10 album debut and third Top 10 debut in the past five years. With that release, Santana joined the Rolling Stones as the only other musical act in chart history to score at least one Top 10 album in every decade beginning with the 1960s.
“Shape Shifter” (2012), is Santana’s latest album featuring a 13-song instrumental tour de force (one song features vocals by Santana’s lead vocalists Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay). The album also features Chester Thompson on keyboards, Dennis Chambers on drums, Benny Rietveld on bass, Salvador Santana on keyboards, Raul Rekow on congas and Karl Perazzo on percussion.
An equally multi-faceted businessman, Santana’s “River Of Colors” (ROC) founded in 1997, has enjoyed tremendous success in both Lifestyle and Entertainment products such as the Carlos by Carlos Santana and Unity by Carlos Santana brand names encompassing shoes, handbags, headwear as well as noted musical instruments including electric guitars, hand percussion and sparkling wine.
The arc of Santana’s performing and recording career is complemented by a lifelong devotion to social activism and humanitarian causes. His Milagro Foundation, originally established by Carlos Santana and his family in 1998, has granted more than five million dollars to non-profit programs supporting underserved children and youth in the areas of arts, education and health.
Santana will be at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Friday and Saturday August 24 & 25, 2012.
