#carlossantana #smooth #biography #lifestory
Musician Carlos Santana was born on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico. His father, Jose, was an accomplished professional violinist, and as a child Carlos learned to play the instrument from his father, though he ultimately didn't enjoy the tones he created. He would eventually take up the electric guitar, for which he developed an ardent passion.
In 1955, the family moved from Autlán de Navarro to Tijuana, the border city between Mexico and California. As a teenager, Santana began performing in Tijuana strip clubs, inspired by the American rock & roll and blues music of artists like B.B. King, Ray Charles and Little Richard. In the early 1960s, Santana moved again with his family, this time to San Francisco, where his father had already relocated to find work. Carlos became a naturalized American citizen in 1965.

In San Francisco, the young guitarist got the chance to see his idols, most notably King, perform live. He was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and international folk music, and witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s. After several years spent working as a dishwasher in a diner and playing for spare change on the streets, Santana decided to become a full-time musician. In 1966, he formed the Santana Blues Band, with fellow street musicians David Brown and Gregg Rolie (bassist and keyboard player, respectively).

Santana's phenomenal comeback on the pop charts began in 1997, when he re-signed the band with his first producer and mentor, Davis, then the president of Arista Records. Davis enlisted a roster of prominent musicians—among them Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Cee Lo Green, Dave Matthews and Wyclef Jean—to perform on the legendary guitarist's 35th album, Supernatural, released in 1999. By early 2000, the album had sold 10 million copies worldwide and spawned a Number 1 hit single, "Smooth," featuring catchy pop lyrics sung by Rob Thomas and Santana's electrically-charged guitar licks.
Nominated in nine categories at the Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year (Supernatural), Record of the Year and Song of the Year (both for "Smooth"), Santana won in every category. With his eight awards (the award for Song of the Year went to Thomas and Itaal Shur, who wrote "Smooth"), Santana tied Michael Jackson's 1983 record for most Grammy Awards won in a single year.

Santana followed up his award-winning album with Shaman (2002), which received additional accolades. He and Michelle Branch won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for the top 5 song "The Game of Love." Another interesting array of collaborators appeared on Santana's next album All That I Am (2005), including Mary J. Blige, Los Lonely Boys and Steven Tyler.
In 2009, Santana received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. He also debuted his own music review, Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas that same year. Santana continued to take his music on the road, playing numerous tour dates each year. In 2013, he became a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

In the second decade of the new millennium, Santana continued to put forth new music as well. On his own Starfaith label, he released 2012's mostly instrumental Shape Shifter, with Corazón following two years later under RCA. The latter album once again saw Santana working with Davis and featured an array of Latino artists such as Juanes, ChocQuibTown, Romeo Santos and Gloria Estefan. Spring 2016 saw the release of Santana IV, an outing that featured a return to the guitarist's textured, more psychedelic sound with bandmates from the Santana III album.
Santana lived in Marin County, California, with his wife, Deborah, whom he married in 1973, and their three children, Salvador, Stella and Angelica. On October 19, 2007, he and his wife filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences."
Santana became engaged to drummer Cindy Blackman, a member of his band who's previously worked with Lenny Kravitz, in July 2010. The two were married in December of that year.