Hit songs of this period include "Evil Ways", "Black Magic Woman" (both 1970), "Oye Como Va" (1971), and the instrumental "Samba Pa Ti" (1973).

Following a change in line-up and musical direction in 1972, the band experimented with elements of jazz fusion on Caravanserai (1972), Welcome (1973), and Borboletta (1974).

[11] In 2014, the "classic" line-up—with the exception of Brown, who died in 2000—reunited for Santana IV (2016) and the group continue to perform and record.

In 1998, the line-up of Santana, Rolie, Carabello, Shrieve, Brown, and Areas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[14] In 1966, Mexican-born American musician Carlos Santana discovered San Francisco's hippie and counterculture movement and found himself "wanting to be part of this new wave.

"[15] Later that year, he began to assemble his own band, the first line-up of which included Sergio "Gus" Rodriguez on bass, Danny Haro on drums, and Michael Carabello on percussion.

In June 1967, Graham fired the group from performing at the Fillmore after some members turned up late for a gig supporting The Who and Loading Zone.

[20] Graham agreed, and advised that the band needed to cut the lengthy jams and begin constructing songs.

[20] With the album recorded, Graham arranged for Santana to tour the Midwest as openers for Crosby, Stills and Nash, which expanded the group's profile outside the West Coast.

[21] Around this time, Graham had been asked to help organise the upcoming Woodstock Festival and agreed to promote it on the condition that Santana would be added to the bill.

In October 1969, Graham had Santana perform at the Gold Rush rock music festival and on The Ed Sullivan Show, further increasing the group's nationwide exposure.

[25] Matters came to a head shortly before the Santana III tour in September 1971 began, when Carlos wanted Carabello to leave the group, otherwise he would.

James "Mingo" Lewis was quickly brought in as a temporary replacement after he saw the band live and offered his services.

[26] Santana's gig in Lima, Peru in December 1971 brought further trouble, as the outbreak of violence resulted in their equipment being confiscated and the band deported from the country.

"[26] In 1972, Santana had been increasingly influenced by the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Joe Zawinul, who had explored jazz fusion by this time.

[19] The fourth album, Caravanserai (1972), marked a number of line-up changes; bassist David Brown left in 1971 before recording started and was replaced by Doug Rauch and Tom Rutley.

Reaching number 10 on the US charts, and also hitting the top 10 in France, Australia, New Zealand, Austria and the Netherlands, it was a return to the success of their early albums.

The 1980s started relatively brightly for Santana, with 1981's platinum-selling Zebop!, which also reached the top 20 in several countries, and continued the more conventional rock sound.

The following year, Shangó was released; this album marked a steep decline in the band's commercial fortunes, although it still achieved gold status.

In the midst of this commercial pitfall, the band stopped recording material for an unprecedented seven years but continued to tour.

Although it initially sold briskly (298,973 copies in the US in its first week) and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, the album's appeal quickly wore off and it soon slid down the charts.

The first single released from the album, "The Game of Love", which featured vocals from Michelle Branch, debuted at number 5 on the Hot 100.

Musically it was a drastic change for the band, with a far heavier sound at its core and strong heavy metal influences.

Confirmed for the reunion were Neal Schon, who was in the band in the early 1970s where he traded lead guitar work with Santana before leaving with founding Santana singer-organist Gregg Rolie in 1973 to form Journey; drummer Mike Shrieve and percussionist Mike Carabello.

After initial writing sessions and rehearsals took place in 2013, the group recorded throughout 2014 and 2015, amassing 16 new tracks that combined all their signature elements – Afro-Latin rhythms, soaring vocals, electrifying blues-psychedelic guitar solos, and irrepressible jubilant percussion work.

[37] On 21 October 2016, Santana released Santana IV: Live at the House of Blues Las Vegas on Eagle Rock Entertainment, a new (151 minutes) live album (on DVD/Blu-ray/2CD) of their concert on 21 March 2016 at House of Blues in Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.

"[40] In March 2019, the band announced plans to release on June 7, 2019, Africa Speaks, their new full-length album produced by Rick Rubin.