The sign of a true musical statesman is their appearance in Las Vegas. Through the years, the entertainers who have graced Vegas audiences were the top cats in the game. Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack, Wayne Newton, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion and now for the first time a true Rock innovator, Mr. Carlos Santana in his first Rock Residency show featuring songs from Woodstock to the present. The history of Carlos Santana is a rich and vivid love affair with the electric guitar and the audiences who fell in love with this iconic Hispanic American.

Carlos first entertained the idea of becoming a full time musician in 1966 and formed the Santana Blues Band with Dave Brown and Gregg Rolie. Using a mixture of Jazz, Blues, Salsa and African rhythms, the band was soon a hit on the San Francisco Strip Circuit but it wasn’t until their appearance on day two of the Woodstock Festival that put this Native Mexican on the extensive Rock and Roll map. Off of their influential Woodstock performance, Santana was signed by Clive Davis and Columbia Records and just months later released “Santana” in August of 1969. That album would produce two mainstream hits, “Jingo” and the Willie Bobo (aka American Jazz Percussionist William Correa) song “Evil Ways”.

The 1970’s brought a new era of success for the new Latin Rock God with the release of his second album “Abraxes” which spawned three major hits. The Fleetwood Mac tune “Black Magic Woman, Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” and “Hope You’re Feeling Better”. Santana III was the next in line for the group from Spanish Harlem. Often referred to as simply III, this album produced two great singles. “Everybody’s Everything” featured an unknown 17-year old guitarist by the name of Neal Schon. The second single released put this band on the musical map forever. The FM friendly “No One To Depend On” which reached # 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. New guitarist Schon and Gregg Rolie would soon leave the band to form the Pop/Rock band Journey.

1972 saw Santana team up with American Rock and Funk drummer Buddy Miles. They would release a 6-track album that included songs written by both musicians. It was recorded live on January 1, 1972 at the Sunshine ’72 Festival held inside Diamond Head on Honolulu, Hawaii. 1973’s “Love Devotion Surrender” was collaboration with English Jazz/Fusion Guitarist John McLaughlin. The release went Gold in the same year.

The 1973 release of “Welcome” featured the widow of John Coltrane, Alice as the pianist on the opening track “Going Home” which also featured Flora Purim, former wife of Airto Moreira. The record produced no singles. “Lotus” was the 1974 Live release that was a triple-album which featured 22 songs running an extensive 114 minutes. This was followed up with the CBS Records release of “Santana’s Greatest Hits and features the highlights of the group’s first three albums. 1974 also saw the release of collaboration between Santana and Alice Coltrane by the name of “Illuminations” which also featured Jazz musicians Jules Broussard, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. The album was five songs that did not spark any singles and was not well received by reviewers. The 1974 release “Borboletta” featured Alice Coltrane again as well as Broussard and DeJohnette and was another Jazz-Funk oriented albums that was well reviewed but also failed to produce any singles.

With a new band in place, Santana released “Amigos” in March of 1976 and for the first time since 1972’s Caravanserai the album hit the top ten on the Billboard Charts and produced two hits, “Let It Shine” and “Europa (Earth’s Cry Heaven’s Smile)”. The release went Gold on June 11, 1976. “Festival”, Santana’s ninth album, was released in January of 1977 and again produced no singles and was not well received by the critics. “Moonflower”, both a studio and Double Live album was released in October of 1977 and featured a cover of the Zombies “She’s Not There” which peaked at # 27 on the Billboard charts and the album eventually was certified Platinum and featured brothers Pete and Coke Escovedo.

From 1977 thru 1998, Santana would release eleven more albums of which only two went US Gold (Inner Secrets and Shango) but in 1999 Santana collaborated with Clive Davis and together they produced the Concept Album “Supernatural” which went 15 times platinum, won nine Grammy Awards to include Album of the Year and three Latin Grammy Awards including Record of the Year. The record has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and not only revived Santana’s career but took it to new heights. The album featured a who’s who of celebrity guests to include Eric Clapton, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews and Cee-Lo. The disc produced three singles, “Smooth”, “Maria Maria”, and “Put Your Lights On”.

Riding on his popularity, Columbia released “The Essential Santana” which was a compilation of his hits between 1969 and 2001. Following that, Santana released Shaman, which immediately shot to and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and sold over 5 million copies worldwide. This also had a mix of celebrity musicians, though unlike “Supernatural”, “Shaman” featured stars from the world of Hip Hop, Pop and Rap. The album produced two singles, “The Game of Love” and “Why Don’t You and I”.

“All That I Am” was the next album from Santana and was released on October 31, 2005. This album also featured a number of collaborations with other artists to include Michelle Branch, The Wreckers, Steven Tyler, Big Boi, Mary J. Blige, Will i am, Toure Kunda, Anthony Hamilton, Kirk Hammett, Robert Randolph, Joss Stone, Los Lonely Boys, Sean Paul and Bo Bice.

On June 30th of 2009 Sony/BMG and Legacy Records released “The Woodstock Experience” featuring the live performances of Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane and Johnny Winter. The set also contained individual releases for each band. For Santana, it was his band’s debut release, “Santana.”

With his career solidified with his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Billboard Century Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award, Santana has embarked on the next phase of his career which includes his humanitarian work with his Milagro Foundation which has distributed over three million dollars to non-profit organizations supporting underprivileged children and youth in the areas of Art, Education and Health.

Join Carlos Santana and the Santana Blues Band as they take you on a journey through the years and experience the magic that is Supernatural Santana.

Purchase Tickets