Carlos Santana’s strategy for success has kept him on top for 20 years
Nick Krewen
Hamilton Spectator
Friday, July 24, 1987
It was 20 years ago today that Carlos Santana taught his band to play.
The summer of love may be best remembered for The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but 1967 should also go down in history as the year Latin rock surfaced to the mainstream due to the efforts of Santana.
Filled with the sensuous sound of congas and timbales, organ and Santana’s fiery guitar solos, the rich Latin percussive rhythms of songs like “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” crossed over to the pop charts and won him an eager new audience.
An appearance at Woodstock in 1969 guaranteed his immortality, but two decades later, Carlos Santana has managed to weather the sands of time and keep his superstardom on an even kill. Though his sound through 17 hit albums may have become more pop-oriented, the spiritually-conscientious Santana shows no signs of slowing down.
“Everyday I wake up, I’m still really inspired about getting out there and moving people and getting wet and getting them wet spiritually, emotionally and physically,” he said over the phone from Philadelphia before a show.
“I’m very grateful because all my life, I’ve been surrounded by people who – just with their eyes – have a certain way of telling me to stay with it. I believe in getting better, not getting bitter.”
A humanist at heart, Santana and his band were one of 45 American and Soviet acts to play the Moscow Festival for Peace three weeks ago.
“Moscow was a very, very positive experience for me,” said the Mexico-born Santana. “I saw a lot of people over there that want to be a lot of things that Americans are. Everybody has it good and bad, but America has a lot of potential for the individual to dream and aspire and make those dreams a reality.
“So they want to just be able to manifest those dreams and the government realizes they need a change. They want to get into Little Richard and John Coltrane, walk distantly, talk distantly and be a little more loose. It’s a different kind of spirit and I think they yearn for that kind of expression.”
Santana‘s latest album, Freedom, is more politically outspoken than his last few records.
“We came from the ’60s and that’s what we’ve known all our lives” said Santana. “I was coming out of high school and you had this pressure of people learning about the riots of the ’60s and Vietnam. This is where I grew up. Today there are a lot of things worth talking about instead of just playing music about ‘my baby.’
“I’ve got a beautiful woman and two children. So it’s important to me to talk about issues that really matter, like (imprisoned South African activist) Nelson Mandela – and how people need to loosen up in the media and give real music a change instead of just focusing on entertainers who come up with formulated ideas.
“All those things to me are very important because your children and your children’s children are going to suffer if they don’t have people who stand up for art.”
Santana says the secret to his identifiable guitar sound is reflected in his admiration for vocalists.
“I always like singers – that’s how I try and make the guitar sound,” he said. “I like musicians who play the same note three times – and each time they play it, it’s like blowing up a balloon: the third time, it pops. And when it pops, you get this resonance of spirit and ghosts, and it sounds more like spirit in one soul. That comes from getting inside the note.
“That’s why I like singers: I can tell when they’re hiding and I can tell when they’re really crying. That’s the goal – to cry and not to whine.”
He advises musicians to privately discover as much as possible about their capabilities on their instruments.
“Spend a lot of time with yourself,” he counsels. “Lock yourself in a room. Play for two or three hours at a time – and tape it. The more you practice, the more you develop your own sound. Find your own individuality, your own tone. That’s the most precious thing God gave you.”
Santana has just finished his 18th album, Spirits Dancing In The Flesh and recently wrote the score for the critically acclaimed film movie La Bamba.
Tonight he plays Kingswood Music Theatre and he says his live show doesn’t really reflect his recorded output.
“It’s very hard to record the band live,” Santana admits. “I’ve just about given up on producers – that’s why we produced ourselves, last time. The band is sort of like The Grateful Dead – it’s a live spirit. Once we go into the studio, it’s like going to the dentist. Sometimes it’s pleasant, but most of the time it’s very unpleasant.”