By the mid-’90s, Santana seemed spent as a commercial force on records, though the group continued to attract audiences for its concerts worldwide. But the band made a surprising and monumental comeback in 1999 with Supernatural, an album featuring many guest stars that became Santana’s best-selling release and won a raft of Grammy Awards. Mexican-native Carlos Santana moved to San Francisco in the early ’60s, by which time he was already playing the guitar professionally. In 1966, he formed the Santana Blues Band with keyboard player and singer Gregg Rolie. The group came to the attention of promoter Bill Graham, who gave it its debut at his Fillmore West theater on June 16, 1968. The band recorded its self-titled debut album and began to tour nationally, making an important stop at the Woodstock festival on August 15, 1969. It peaked in the Top Five, going on to remain in the charts over two years, sell over two million copies, and spawn the Top 40 single ‘Jingo’ and the Top Ten single ‘Evil Ways.’ Santana’s performance of ‘Soul Sacrifice’ was a highlight of the documentary film Woodstock and its double-platinum soundtrack album, which appeared in 1970. The band’s second album, Abraxas, was released in September 1970 and was even more successful than its first. It hit number one, remaining in the charts more than a-year-and-a-half and eventually selling over four million copies while spawning the Top Five hit ‘Black Magic Woman’ and the Top Ten hit ‘Oye Como Va.’ Santana’s third album, Santana III, was performed by the seven bandmembers. Released in September 1971, the album was another massive hit, reaching number one and eventually selling over two million copies while spawning the Top Ten hit ‘Everybody’s Everything’ and the Top 20 hit ‘No One to Depend On.’, Carlos reorganized Santana and recorded the fourth Santana band album, Caravanserai; ; it peaked in the Top Five and was eventually certified platinum. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with Vocal Coloring. On Welcome, the band’s fifth album, released in November 1973, went gold and peaked in the Top 20. Columbia released Santana’s Greatest Hits in July 1974. The compilation peaked in the Top 20 and eventually went double platinum. The sixth new Santana album, Borboletta, followed in October. Borboletta peaked in the Top 20 and eventually went gold. Amigos, released in March 1976, which returned Santana to the Top Ten and went gold. The band was back only nine months later with another Rubinson production, Festival, for which Santana consisted of Carlos, Coster, returning members Jose ‘Chepito’ Areas and Leon Patillo, drummer Gaylord Birch, percussionist Raul Rekow, and bass player Pablo Telez. This album peaked in the Top 40 and went gold. Never having issued a live album in the U.S., Santana made up for the lapse with Moonflower, released in October 1977; the album peaked in the Top Ten and eventually went platinum. Santana returned to the studio for Inner Secrets, released in October 1978 and the album was quickly certified gold. Marathon, the tenth Santana band studio album equaled the success of Inner Secrets, peaking outside the Top 20 but going gold, with ‘You Know That I Love You’ becoming a Top 40 single. Zebop! until March 1981, and the extra effort paid off. Paced by the Top 20 single ‘Winning,’ the album reached the Top Ten and went gold. In 1991, Santana signed to Polydor Records, which, in April 1992, released the band’s 16th studio album, Milagro. Santana left Polydor and signed briefly to EMI before moving to Arista Records, run by Clive Davis, who had been president of Columbia during the band’s heyday. Carlos and Davis put together Supernatural.. Arista released the album in June 1999, followed by the single ‘Smooth’ featuring Rob Thomas. Album and single hit number one and in 2000, a second single, ‘Maria Maria,’ also topped the charts. Supernatural’s sales exploded, taking it past ten million copies and the album garnered 11 Grammy nominations. Santana won eight Grammys, for Record of the Year (‘Smooth’), Album of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (‘Maria Maria’), Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (‘Smooth’), Best Pop Instrumental Performance (‘El Farol’), Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (‘Put Your Lights On’), Best Rock Instrumental Performance (‘The Calling’), and Best Rock Album, and ‘Smooth’ won the Grammy for Song of the Year for authors Rob Thomas and Itaal Shur. The follow-up, Shaman, appeared in 2002. Three years later, All That I Am arrived. Guitar Heaven appeared in 2010.
