Santana with the original name Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a famous Mexican rock guitarist who rose to the heights of fame in the late 60s and early 70s. his band Santana pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion. Santana has received ten Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards till now for his superb skills in playing music.
Carlos Santana has set up many upcoming dates for his 2011 Concert Tour. He was born on July 20, 1947 in Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico. Playing with musical instruments was his childhood hobby as his father was a mariachi violinist and he taught Santana to play violin at the age of five only. He learned how to play a guitar at the age of eight. In 1965, he graduated from Mission High School. He learnt different techniques in playing guitar from his guitar teacher Javier Batiz.
In 1966, Santana formed the Santana Blues Band with some other street musicians like David Brown and Gregg Rolie. This band immediately got the attention due to their original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa and African rhythms. Soon the band signed to Columbia Records. Bill Graham, who was a big fan of theirs, provided them magnificent recognition.
The band released their first album by the title of Santana and it became a huge hit. It topped at number four on the US album charts and its super doper song Evil Ways peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second album Abraxas was released in 1970 which enhanced their popularity and the band was recognized and reputed in a terrific way. The album reached at number one on the album charts and it successfully sold four million copies.
The band’s third album Santana III was another big success. Its hit songs were Everybody’s Everything and No One to Depend On. This album sold over two million copies and reached at number one on the album charts. The band released their next album Caravanserai in 1972. It was a successful towards jazz fusion. In the beginning, it received critical praise and also some negative comments but over the years it made platinum status.
1976 saw Santana’s new album Amigos comprising the songs Dance, Sister, Dance and Let It Shine. Big success and high name in music world led him to think on the lines of a solo career. He released his solo albums and one of them was Blues for Salvador which earned Santana a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
After twenty years, Santana left Columbia Records and signed with Polygram in 1990. His record sale was much low at that time but in 1999, his album Supernatural went a great hit. It single Smooth went a great hit and it spent twelve weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold over fifteen million copies in US. It was the biggest achievement by Santana so ever. It won nine Grammy Awards in 2000.
In 2002, Santana released a new album Shaman having two hit singles, The Game of Love which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and Why Don’t You & I which reached at number eight. The H=Game of Love earned him a Grammy Award. In 2005, his album, All That I am was released and in 2006, he went to tour Europe.
His most recent album is Guitar Heaven which was released in 2010. It is a classic rock covers album featuring guest performances by several popular singers. Santana is playing live near around you. You must be a part of the crowd, enjoying with his beats and music. Get cheap Santana show tickets just at one click to amuse you in a terrific way.
