Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966 by Mexican-born guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone various recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Santana being the only consistent member. In 1998, the lineup of Santana, Rolie, Carabello, Shrieve, Brown and Areas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."Santana". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
Santana is one of the best-selling groups of all time with an estimated 100 million albums sold worldwide.
History Santana was founded by eponymous guitarist Carlos Santana in late 1966, the band's first line-up included Sergio "Gus" Rodriguez on bass, Danny Haro on drums, and Michael Carabello on percussion. By February 1967, the band were joined by Tom Fraser on guitar and vocals, who also brought in Gregg Rolie on organ and vocals. After losing out on a residency in June 1967, due to members not being committed, Santana and Rolie brought in new musicians.
Members Bold denotes members of the classic line-up.
Current members ImageNameYears activeInstruments Release contributions Carlos Santana 1966–present all releases Benny Rietveld bass Karl Perazzo 1991–present all release from Milagro (1992) onwards, except Live at the Fillmore 1968 (1997), The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007) and The Woodstock Experience (2009) Andy Vargas 2000–present all releases from All That I Am (2005) onwards, except The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007) and The Woodstock Experience (2009) Tommy Anthony 2005–present all releases from Guitar Heaven (2010) onwards David K. Matthews 2011–present keyboards all releases from Corazón (2014) onwards Paoli Mejías 2013–present Cindy Blackman Santana 2015–present drums Ray Greene 2016–present Salvador Santana 2025–present
Former members
ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributions Gregg Rolie Tom Fraser1966–1967guitarsnone Sergio "Gus" Rodriguezbass Danny Harodrums Michael Carabello David Brown bass Marcus Malone1967–1969 Don Wehr 1967drumsnone Rod Harper Bob Livingston 1967–1969Johnny Rae1969none José "Chepito" Areas Michael "Mike" Shrieve Neal Schon Buddy Miles Freedom (1987) Pete Escovedo Coke Escovedo 1971–1972 Rico Reyes 1971–1972 Tom Rutley 1971–1972Caravanserai (1972) James "Mingo" Lewis 1971–1973 Victor Pantoja 1971none Armando Peraza all releases from Caravanserai (1972) to Spirits Dancing in the Flesh (1990) Tom Coster Richard Kermode1972–1973 keyboards Doug Rauch 1972–1974 Leon Thomas 1973 vocals Leon "Ndugu" Chancler drums Leon Patillo Jules Broussard 1974–1975 saxophone Greg Walker vocals Raul Rekow 1976–2013 all releases from Festivál (1977) to Shape Shifter (2012), except Live at the Fillmore 1968 (1997), The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007) and The Woodstock Experience (2009) Gaylord Birch Festivál (1977) Graham Lear drums Luther Rabb 1976 vocalsnone Joel Badie 1976Festivál (1977) Byron MillerbassnonePablo Tellez 1976–1977 David Margen 1977–1982 Chris Solberg 1978–1980 Chris Rhyne 1978–1979keyboardsInner Secrets (1978) Russell Tubbs 1978flutenone Alex Ligertwood Alan Pasqua 1979–1980 Orestes Vilató 1980–1987 Richard Baker 1980–1982keyboards Chester D. Thompson1983–2009all releases from Beyond Appearances (1985) to Shape Shifter (2012), except Live at the Fillmore 1968 (1997), The Very Best of Santana – Live in 1968 (2007), The Woodstock Experience (2009) and Guitar Heaven (2010) Keith Jones bassnone David Sancious 1984Beyond Appearances (1985) Chester C. Thompson drums Alphonso Johnson bass Sterling Crew 1985–1986keyboardsFreedom (1987) Walfredo Reyes Jr. drums Billy Johnson Tony Lindsay vocals Myron Dove Sacred Fire: Live in South America (1993) Vorriece Cooper 1992–1993vocals Oran Coltrane 1992saxophonenone Rodney Holmes drums Tommie Bradford 1994 Curtis Salgado 1995 Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez1997drumsSupernatural (1999) Ricky Wellman none William "Bill" Ortiz 1999–2016trumpetJeff Cressman 1999–2016tromboneall releases from Supernatural (1999) to Corazón: Live from México - Live It to Believe It (2014) Dennis Chambers 2002–2013drums Christopher A. Scott 2002–2005none Freddie Ravel 2009–2010keyboardsGuitar Heaven (2010) José "Pepe" Jimenez 2013–2015drumsnone
Timeline
References