Brown played in Santana at Woodstock and at Altamont in 1969 and on the band's first three studio albums before leaving after the "Closing of the Fillmore West" gig on July 4, 1971.

The family moved to Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco, where Brown was raised with Sly Stone as his neighbor.

Brown formed a doo-wop group when he was 14, and played bass with touring bands such as the Four Tops when they gigged in San Francisco.

[4] Brown was discovered in San Francisco by Santana's manager, Stan Marcum, who invited him to join the band in late '66 or '67.

"[5] Musicologist Maury Dean praised Brown's bass playing on the band's hit single "Black Magic Woman": "David Brown cushions the low rhythms on a jazz-riff bass; he circles the beat like Ella Fitzgerald, rather than pounce on it.