Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist who became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band's sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhythms featuring percussion instruments. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades.

He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards. He has released seven studio albums, three live albums, six compilation albums and five singles.

In his early music career he formed the Latin band Santana, named after his surname.The band came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill. This initial exposure made their first, eponymous album a hit at the time, followed in the next two years by successful follow-ups Abraxas and Santana III.

Over the next few years, lineup changes were common and frequent, and although retaining a basis of Latin rock, Carlos Santana's increasing involvement with guru Sri Chinmoy took the band further into more esoteric music.

In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Carlos Santana, Jose Chepito Areas, David Brown, Mike Carabello, Gregg Rolie and Michael Shrieve being honored.

As a solo-artist, Santana released several albums. Two of his earliest studio albums, his debut album Love Devotion Surrender with John McLaughlin and the second album, Illuminations, with Alice Coltrane, were collaborations. He then released four studio albums as a solo artist, two of which were released under his spiritual name "Devadip Carlos Santana". His latest released studio album, Santana Brothers, was a collaboration between his nephew Carlos Hernandez and his brother Jorge Santana.

Only two of his prior released albums, his debut album Love Devotion Surrender, and the live album Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live! received a certification from the national American certification. He has also collaborated on twenty-seven albums with numerous artists, such as Chad Kroeger and Steven Tyler, and appeared in forty-nine albums as a guest guitarist.