Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico. He learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight under the tutelage of his father, a mariachi musician. His younger brother, Jorge Santana, would also become a professional guitarist. Young Carlos was heavily influenced by Ritchie Valens at a time when there were very few Mexicans in American rock and pop music. The family moved from Autlán de Navarro to Tijuana, the city on Mexico's border with California, and then San Francisco. Carlos stayed in Tijuana but later joined his family in San Francisco. During his early years from the age of 10-12 he was sexually molested by an American man who brought him across the border In 1969, the santana's band performance at the Woodstock festival introduced them to an international audience and garnered critical acclaim, although the band's sudden success put pressure on the group, highlighting the different musical directions in which Rolie and Santana were starting to go. Rolie, along with some of the other band members, wanted to emphasize a basic hard rock sound which had been a key component in establishing the band from the start. Santana, however, was increasingly interested in moving beyond his love of blues and rock and wanted more jazzy, ethereal elements in the music, which were influenced by his fascination with Gábor Szabó, Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, and John Coltrane, as well as his growing interest in spirituality. At the same time, Chepito Areas was stricken with a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, and Santana hoped to continue by finding a temporary replacement (first Willie Bobo, then Coke Escovedo), while others in the band, especially Michael Carabello, felt it was wrong to perform publicly without Areas. Cliques formed, and the band started to disintegrate.
Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed up with their second album, Abraxas, in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound. Abraxas included two of Santana's most enduring and well-known hits, "Oye Como Va", and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen". Abraxas spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart at the end of 1970. The album remained on the charts for 88 weeks and was certified 4x platinum in 1986. In 2003 the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Equipment
Guitars and effects
Santana played a red Gibson SG Special with P-90 pickups at the Woodstock festival. During the time between the release of Abraxas and Santana III (1970–1972), he used different Gibson Les Pauls and a Black Gibson SG Special. In 1974 he played and endorsed the Gibson L6-S Custom. This can be heard on the album Borbeletta. From 1976 until 1982 his main guitar was a Yamaha SG 175B, and sometimes a white Gibson SG Custom with 3 open coil pick-ups. In 1982 he started to use a custom made PRS Custom 24 guitar. In 1988 PRS Guitars began making Santana signature model guitars, which Santana has played through its various iterations ever since (see below).
Santana currently uses a Santana II model guitar fitted with PRS Santana III nickel covered pickups, a tremolo bar, and .009-.042 gauge D'Addariostrings. He also plays a PRS Santana Multidimensional (MD) The Santana guitars feature necks made of a single piece of mahogany topped with Rosewood fretboards (some feature highly sought-after Brazilian Rosewood). This helps create the smooth, singing, glass-like tone for which he is known.
Santana Signature Models:
- PRS Santana I "The Yellow"(1988)
- PRS Santana II "Supernatural" (1999)
- PRS Santana III (2001)
- PRS Santana SE (2001)
- PRS Santana SE II (2003)
- PRS Santana Shaman SE-Limited Edition (2003)
- PRS Santana MD "The Multidimensional" (2008)
- PRS Santana 25th Anniversary (2009)
- PRS Santana Abraxas SE-Limited Edition (2009)
- PRS Santana SE "The Multidimensional" (2011)
- PRS Santana Retro (2017)
- PRS Santana Yellow SE (2017)
Santana also uses a classical guitar, he used the Alvarez Yairi CY127CE with Alvarez tension nylon strings , in the last years from 2009 he uses custom made, semi-hollow Toru Nittono's "Model-T" Jazz Electric Nylon.
Santana does not use many effects pedals. His PRS guitar is connected to a Mu-Tron wah wah pedal (or, more recently, a Dunlop 535Q wah and a T-Rex Replica delay pedal. then through a customized Jim Dunlop amp switcher which in turn is connected to the different amps or cabinets.
Previous setups include an Ibanez Tube Screamer right after the guitar. He is also known to have used an Electro Harmonix Big Muffdistortion for his famous sustain. In the song "Stand Up" from the album Marathon (1979), Santana uses a Heil talk box in the guitar solo. He has also used the Audiotech Guitar Products 1x6 Rack Mount Audio Switcher in rehearsals for the 2008 "Live Your Light" tour.
Santana uses two different guitar picks: the large triangular Dunlop he has used for so many years, and the V-Pick Freakishly Large Round.
Personal life
Santana became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1965.
On October 19, 2007, Deborah Santana filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences" after 34 years of marriage.
Santana became engaged to drummer Cindy Blackman, after proposing to her during a concert of the Universal Tone Tour at Tinley Park in suburban Chicago, Illinois, on July 9, 2010. The two were married in December 2010 . They currently live in Las Vegas.
Santana has 3 children: Salvador, Stella, and Angelica.
Awards
The Grammy Awards are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. Santana has received ten awards and four nominations.
Grammy Hall of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings, that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance". One album by Santana was inducted.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Abraxas | Grammy Hall of Fame | Inducted |
Guinness Book of World Records
The Guinness Book of World Records is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Santana has been mentioned four times in the Guinness Book of World Records.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Santana | Most Grammy Awards won in a single year by a group (8 Grammys) | Mentioned |
| Supernatural | Best-selling album by a Latin artist (more than 27 million records) | Mentioned | |
| Santana | Longest gap between first chart entry and first no.1 single (30 years) | Mentioned | |
| Santana | Longest gap between U.S. chart album hits (28 years) | Mentioned |
Hollywood Walk of Fame Award
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a permanent public monument to achievement in the entertainment industry. Each June, a committee selects approximately 20 celebrities to receive stars on the Walk of Fame during the following year. Carlos Santana has received a star on the walk in 1997.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Carlos Santana | A star located at 7080 Hollywood Blvd | Inducted |
Latin Grammy Award
The Latin Grammy Award is an award given to musicians who have contributed to Latin music. It was established by National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 1991. Santana has received three awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Corazón Espinado" | Record of the Year | Won |
| Best Rock Vocal Performance, Duo or Group | Won | ||
| "El Farol" | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | Won |
Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award is given to Latin musicians or their works. One song by Santana has been inducted.[27]
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Oye Como Va" | Induction into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame | Inducted |
NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Award is an accolade that honors outstanding achievements and performances of people in film, television, music and literature, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors. Carlos Santana has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Carlos Santana | NAACP Image Hall of Fame | Inducted |
Patrick Lippert Award
The Patrick Lippert Award is an award by Rock the Vote, a foundation that helps young people to promote their political statements. The award honors artists and other public figures that have made contributions to activism, volunteerism and political involvement. Carlos Santana has received one award for his work with the Milagro Foundation.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Carlos Santana | Patrick Lippert Award | Won |
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Santana has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among other influential musicians.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Santana (Jose Chepito Areas, David Brown, Mike Carabello, Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, and Michael Shrieve) | Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | Inducted |
UCLA Cesar E. Chavez Spirit Award
Carlos Santana and his wife Deborah have been awarded the UCLA Cesar E. Chavez Spirit Award, an award named after Cesar E. Chavez and given to people for their social engagement.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Carlos Santana and Deborah Santana | Award for social engagement | Won |
VH1 awards
VH1, an American cable television network based in New York City, gives out annually the VHI Awards. Santana has won two awards.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Carlos Santana | Man of the Year | Won |
| "Smooth" | Your Song Kicked Ass But Was Played Too Damn Much | Won |