TNB Night Owl – Santana

Here’s another act with a career stretching over five decades of recording and performing.

In Santana’s early days, they were considered a blues and rock band with a Latin influence. They were fresh, original, and practically an overnight legend. By the late 70s, they were doing covers of songs that already had varying degrees of success, but stamping them with a Santana vibe. Then came the 80s. The two tunes that charted were cover songs, but without the trademark Santana sound. They weren’t bad – they fit in well with eighties sounds – just not what we’d come to expect from Carlos Santana. Finally, 1999 rolled around, rewarding Santana with, not one but, two number one hits (their first), Smooth and Maria Maria.

Not everyone is going to love every song on this playlist. (Helpful hint: most of these tunes are awesome and define cool, especially the earlier tracks.) But if not a single one of these numbers makes you want to get up and dance, you’d better call the paramedics for life-saving resuscitation.

1969
Evil Ways (4:29)
(Live at Tanglewood 1970)

1969
Jin-go-lo-ba (4:42)
(Live at Beat Club)

1970
Black Magic Woman (5:22)

1970
Hope You’re Feeling Better (4:11)

1970
Samba Pa Ti (4:46)

1970
Persuasion (2:33)

1970
Se a Cabó (2:51)

1971
Oye Cómo Va (4:19)

1971
Everybody’s Everything (3:20)

1971
Everything’s Coming Our Way (3:16)

1977
She’s Not There (4:12)

1979
Stormy (4:46)

1981
Winning (3:30)

1982
Hold On (4:05)

1999
Smooth (4:17)
(featuring Rob Thomas)

1999
Maria Maria (4:21)
(featuring The Product G&B and Wyclef Jean)

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About Richard Doud 622 Articles
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