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Showing posts with the label Gregg Rolie

Santana - Abraxas

Santana is one of those odd bands that is a band but also a singular musician. The classic lineup of the band was cohesive and the fusion of their various identities was remarkable. As a kid I didn't know a lot about them. Their early work didn't really hit my radar, although over the years "Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen" and the infectious "Oye Como Va" were songs I really enjoyed. I knew that Gregg Rolie the keyboard player and singer in Journey had been in the band along with Neil Schon but that was about it. For me the first song by Santana that caught my attention was "Winning" back in 1981 and I bought the 45 and then a year later the band hit it big with their rendition of Ian Thomas' "Hold On' that was a carbon copy of the original, except it had a great guitar solo. That was it. Santana was just a '70s band that had come and gone. In the late '80s I saw Carlos Santana open for The Grateful Dead in Tacoma and while he...