List of Santana band members
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2023) |
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.[1]
Santana is one of the best-selling groups of all time with an estimated 100 million albums sold worldwide.[2]
Members[edit]
Bold denotes members of the classic line-up.
Current members[edit]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | 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 | percussion |
| |
| Cindy Blackman Santana | 2015–present | drums |
| |
| Ray Greene | 2016–present |
|
|
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Former members[edit]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gregg Rolie |
|
|
| |
| Tom Fraser | 1966–1967 | guitars | none | |
| Sergio "Gus" Rodriguez | bass | |||
| Rod Harper | drums | |||
| Michael Carabello |
|
|
| |
| David Brown |
|
bass |
| |
| Marcus Malone | 1967–1969 (died 2021) | percussion |
| |
| Bob Livingston | 1967–1969 | drums | ||
| José "Chepito" Areas |
|
|
| |
| Michael "Mike" Shrieve |
|
|
| |
| Neal Schon |
|
|
| |
| Tom Rutley | 1971–1972 |
|
Caravanserai (1972) | |
| Buddy Miles |
|
|
Freedom (1987) | |
| Pete Escovedo |
|
percussion |
| |
| Coke Escovedo | 1971–1972 (died 1986) |
| ||
| Rico Reyes | 1971–1972 |
|
| |
| Victor Pantoja | 1971 | percussion | none | |
| Armando Peraza | 1972–1976 (died 2014) |
|
all releases from Caravanserai (1972) to Spirits Dancing in the Flesh (1990) | |
| Tom Coster |
|
|
| |
| Richard Kermode | 1972–1973 (died 1996) | keyboards |
| |
| Doug Rauch | 1972–1974 (died 1979) |
|
| |
| James "Mingo" Lewis | 1972–1973 | percussion | Caravanserai (1972) | |
| Leon Thomas | 1973 (died 1999) | vocals |
| |
| Leon "Ndugu" Chancler |
|
drums |
| |
| Leon Patillo |
|
|
| |
| Jules Broussard | 1974–1975 | saxophone |
| |
| Greg Walker |
|
vocals* |
| |
| Raul Rekow | 1976–2013 (died 2015) |
|
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 (died 2006) | vocals | none | |
| Joel Badie | 1976 | Festivál (1977) | ||
| Byron Miller | bass | none | ||
| Pablo Tellez | 1976–1977 |
| ||
| David Margen | 1977–1982 |
| ||
| Chris Solberg | 1978–1980 |
|
| |
| Chris Rhyne | 1978–1979 | keyboards | Inner Secrets (1978) | |
| Russell Tubbs | 1978 | flute | none | |
| Alex Ligertwood |
|
|
| |
| Alan Pasqua | 1979–1980 |
|
| |
| Orestes Vilató | 1980–1987 |
|
| |
| Richard Baker | 1980–1982 | keyboards |
| |
| Chester D. Thompson | 1983–2009 |
|
all 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 |
|
bass | none | |
| David Sancious | 1984 |
|
Beyond Appearances (1985) | |
| Chester C. Thompson | 1984 | drums | ||
| Alphonso Johnson |
|
bass |
| |
| Sterling Crew | 1986 | keyboards | Freedom (1987) | |
| Walfredo Reyes Jr. |
|
drums |
| |
| Billy Johnson |
|
| ||
| Tony Lindsay |
|
vocals |
| |
| Myron Dove |
|
|
Sacred Fire: Live in South America (1993) | |
| Vorriece Cooper | 1992–1993 | vocals | ||
| Oran Coltrane | 1992 | saxophone | none | |
| Rodney Holmes |
|
drums | ||
| Tommie Bradford | 1994 | |||
| Curtis Salgado | 1995 |
| ||
| Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez | 1997 | drums | Supernatural (1999) | |
| Ricky Wellman | none | |||
| Willian "Bill" Ortiz | 1999–2016 | trumpet |
| |
| Jeff Cressman | 1999–2016 | trombone | all releases from Supernatural (1999) to Corazón: Live from México - Live It to Believe It (2014) | |
| Dennis Chambers | 2002–2013 | drums |
| |
| Christopher A. Scott | 2002–2005 |
|
none | |
| Freddie Ravel | 2009–2010 | keyboards | Guitar Heaven (2010) | |
| José "Pepe" Jimenez | 2013–2015 | drums | none |
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Timeline[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Santana". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ Szaroleta, Tom (October 19, 2017). "Echoes of Woodstock: Santana one of the few big names still on the road". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved July 26, 2023.