SANTANA
The innovative Latin blues-rock band Santana formed in the summer of 1966 when guitarist Carlos Santana met keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rollie at a jam session in San Francisco. The pair brought in two percussionists and a bassist and formed the Santana Blues Band, which made its debut in 1966 at the Fillmore Auditorium. The group became a favorite of influential West Coast promoter and Fillmore owner Bill Graham and began performing there regularly to packed houses. The group shortened its name to Santana in time to perform at Woodstock, where their Latin-influenced jam "Soul Sacrifice" wowed the crowd and led to a record deal with Columbia.
Adding a second guitarist, Santana collaborated with jazz performer Buddy Miles to produce the improvisational 1971 album Live!. The following year the group released Caravanserai, a Top 10 hit which continued the band's flirtation with jazz. By the end of 1972 Santana was nearly torn apart as Carlos Santana and Gregg Rollie began arguing over the direction of the group. Rollie left and Carlos reformed the band with a completely different line-up and a more Latin-oriented sound. In 1976 Carlos re-formed the band yet again, almost entirely changing the line-up and pursuing a more rock/R&B sound. The group continued to tour throughout the late '70s and early '80s, changing their sound to fit the times. In 1999, Santana released the blockbuster Supernatural on Arista Records. The album made an impressive showing at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, winning in the Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year categories as well as landing the Song Of The Year award for "Smooth," a track featuring Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas. | 
