Santana on Music’s Healing Powers + Reuniting With His Band – Exclusive Interview
by Ultimate Classic Rock Staff December 15, 2014
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http://ultimateclassicrock.com/carlos-s ... er_4572276I wanted to ask about just one of the hundreds of songs that you mention in the book and that is ‘Song of the Wind,’ of which you write, “To this day I listen to ‘Song of the Wind’ and break down inside hearing [original Santana band member] Gregg [Rolie]’s playing on that one. No solo, just a simple, supportive organ part that is not flashy or anything but supremely important to the song.” And you go on to mention that the original Santana band was coming to an end during the session. Share your thoughts on that song, and then update us on the return of the original Santana band.
I brought that song to the band. I kept playing it as a jam and I played it over and over again and I said, “We gotta record this song.” [Former Santana member] Neal [Schon] plays so beautiful, Gregg played magnificent — and to me I think I just spilled over what I was feeling because I knew it was the end of that era. It was like the Beatles breaking up. We couldn’t put it back together because Gregg and Neal [who left to form Journey] were pregnant with their own vision.
So that song quotes [jazz and blues guitarists] Grant Green, Gabor Szabo, Otis Rush, and Neal quotes everybody from Eric Clapton — but it sounds like us, and there are beautiful stories within that song. I’m happy to say that Neal is the one that brought the band back together. He stayed on me like a laser beam for about a year, chasing me everywhere, man — restaurants and shopping malls — and he would be there and say, “Man, Carlos, man, we gotta do a thing together, you and I, man.”
And then he says, “You know, I wanna do something with so and so and so and so,” and I said no, I don’t wanna play with so and so and so and so. And he goes, “Oh.” And I said there’s nothing wrong with so and so but I don’t wanna do anything with so and so. I said, I tell you what, why don’t we call Gregg Rolie and [former Santana band members] Michael Shrieve and Mike Carabello and go that way. He goes, “Oh, okay.” And so we went this way and we’re gonna do ‘Santana IV.’