Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 by Mexican-born guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone numerous changes in its recording and performing line-ups, with Carlos Santana as the sole consistent member. After signing with Columbia Records, Santana gained widespread attention following their performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and released the albums "Santana" (1969), "Abraxas" (1970), and "Santana III" (1971) with the group's classic line-up, which included organist and lead vocalist Gregg Rolie, percussionists José "Chepito" Areas and Michael Carabello, drummer Michael Shrieve, and bassist David Brown. Notable songs from this period include "Evil Ways" (1970), "Black Magic Woman" (1970), "Oye Como Va" (1971), and the instrumental "Samba Pa Ti" (1973). After a line-up change in 1972, Santana explored jazz fusion influences on albums such as "Caravanserai" (1972), "Welcome" (1973), and "Borboletta" (1974). The band achieved renewed commercial and critical success with their eighteenth album, "Supernatural" (1999), which included the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Smooth" featuring Rob Thomas and "Maria Maria" featuring The Product G&B. The album topped charts in eleven countries, sold 12 million copies in the United States, and won eight Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. In 2014, the classic line-up—excluding David Brown, who had died in 2000, and José Areas—reunited for the album "Santana IV" (2016) and its supporting tour. Santana is one of the best-selling music groups of all time, with over 47 million certified records sold in the United States and an estimated 100 million worldwide. The band’s discography includes 25 studio albums, 14 of which reached the US Top 10. In 1998, the classic line-up of Santana, Rolie, Carabello, Shrieve, Brown, and Areas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Studio albums Santana (1969) Abraxas (1970) Santana (1971) Caravanserai (1972) Welcome (1973) Borboletta (1974) Amigos (1976) Festivál (1977) Moonflower (1977) Inner Secrets (1978) Marathon (1979) The Swing Of Delight (1980) Zebop! (1981) Shangó (1982) Beyond Appearances (1985) Freedom (1987) Spirits Dancing in the Flesh (1990) Milagro (1992) Supernatural (1999) Shaman (2002) Food for Thought (2004) All That I Am (2005) Guitar Heaven (2010) Shape Shifter (2012) Corazón (2014) Santana IV (2016) Africa Speaks (2019) Blessings and Miracles (2021) Sentient (2025)