Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits

A trip through the hits

Staff Report

Carlos Santana is the first rock 'n' roll resident artist to perform in Las Vegas at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. Through 2010 The Joint will be the only place west of the Mississippi where fans can see the rock legend perform live.

“It is a great honor for Santana to be the first resident performer at the new Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Because I still live the principles of the 1960s, and because I’m a hippie at heart, A Trip Through The Hits is designed to bring everyone in the audience together as one,” said Santana. “I invite you to join our experience —we’ll mix up a little practical spirituality with a rebel-from-the-street vibe, and with lots of incredible music. My wish is for it to be a night that will move you to dance, to cry, to laugh and to feel the totality and fullness of being alive.”

The show features songs that span the performer's entire career. The set list includes everything from "Evil Ways," Santanas's first Top 10 hit, to his latest hit "Into The Night." In addition to Santana on lead guitar, the band line-up includes: Chester Thompson (keyboards), Karl Perazzo (timbales), Benny Rietveld (bass), Dennis Chambers (drums), Raul Rekow (congas), Andy Vargas (vocals), Tony Lindsay (vocals), Tommy Anthony (rhythm guitar), Jeff Cressman (trombone) and Bill Ortiz (trumpet). This exciting line-up performs against a set designed by Frank the Plumber, which recently designed the set for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour.

Santana in history

Santana was one of the last big acts to emerge from the San Francisco music scene of the '60s, enjoying major success at the end of that decade and into the early '70s. The band recorded its self-titled debut album and began to tour nationally, making an important stop at the Woodstock festival on Aug. 15, 1969.

"Santana" was released the same month. It remained on the charts for more than two years and spawned the Top 10 single "Evil Ways." The band's second album, "Abraxas," was released in 1970 and was even more successful than its first. It hit No. 1 on the strength of the huge hits "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va."

While the band's personnel changed many times over the years, Carlos Santana steadily guided the group to commercial success over the next quarter-century. The band was still selling many records into the '80s including the 1981 album "Zebop!," which featured a Top 20 single "Winning."

In 1986 Santana staged a 20-year anniversary reunion concert that featured many past band members. The group continued to consistently release music, without much fanfare until "Supernatural" in 1999. The album featured appearances by guest stars including Wyclef Jean, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Rob Thomas and Dave Matthews. The album and the single "Smooth" hit No. 1 and in 2000, a second single, "Maria Maria," also topped the charts.

"Supernatural's" sales exploded and the album garnered 11 Grammy nominations. It won a record-breaking nine Grammys, including Song of the Year for "Smooth," Santana's collaboration with Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas.