Carlos Santana’s career was all but dead and buried in 1999. It would take something way beyond the norm to resurrect him. It took something Supernatural.

Santana at Woodstock (1969)

Santana’s heyday was in the late 60s and early 70s. Carlos' incendiary guitar work, fused with complex Latin and African rhythms and percussion, made Santana a superstar group, best remembered for their performance at Woodstock. The San Francisco based ensemble followed that performance with back-to-back #1 albums: Abraxas (1970) and Santana III (1971). Over the next 20 years, Santana continued to produce albums – a few were minor successes; most were not. One year after being inducted into the rock HOF, Santana found itself in 1999 without a recording contract, and 7 years gone since its last album.

Santana at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction (1998)

Carlos Santana had known Clive Davis of Arista Records for decades. Davis had signed Santana to Columbia Records, where those hit records of his past had been made. In 1999, Carlos went to Davis and asked for his help in reviving Santana and re-introducing the group to a new generation of music fans. Davis suggested an album of Santana songs mixed in with songs co-written, produced or performed by Santana and a cast of guest artists. Supernatural was Clive Davis’ brainchild, and it was a genius.   

Supernatural Tracklist

• (Da Le) Yaleo
• Love of My Life (Dave Matthews)
• Put Your Lights On (Everlast)
• Africa Bamba
• Smooth (Rob Thomas)
• All My Time (Lauryn Hill, CeeLo Green)
• Maria Maria (The Product G&B)
• Migra
• Carazon Espinado (Mana)
• Wishing It Was (Eagle-Eye Cherry)
• El Farol
• Primavera
• The Calling (Eric Clapton)

The first single from Supernatural was “Smooth” featuring Matchbox Twenty vocalist Rob Thomas. The song was more than a hit, it was everywhere, all the time, and can still be heard on radio today. Of the album’s 6 singles, 2 hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Smooth” was #1 for 12 weeks, and spent 30 weeks in the Top Ten (3rd longest of any song in history). “Maria Maria” also spent 10 weeks atop the singles chart.

Supernatural was the #1 album in 12 countries, including the US and the UK. It was #1 on the US Billboard 200 Album chart for 12 non-consecutive weeks between October, 1999, and February, 2000. The album has sold >30 million copies worldwide, and is certified 15X platinum in the US. Guinness Book of World Records has certified that the 28-year gap between Santana III and Supernatural is the longest between #1 albums in music history.

Grammy Awards (2000): Rob Thomas – Carlos Santana – Clive Davis

In 2000, Supernatural won a record 9 Grammy awards, including Record of the Year for Carlos Santana, the first in history for a Hispanic artist. Clive Davis received the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Ole, Santana!