Carlos Santana's Musical Journey

Rock 'N' Roll Legend Finds Wisdom, Soulfulness Through Music

(CBS) 
When his family moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s,
Santana merged his Latin roots with the roots of rock 'n' roll.

He was slowly making a name for himself when in 1969, one riveting concert performance changed everything. The concert was Woodstock, a career-defining moment that made 22-year-old Carlos Santana an instant superstar.

His next three albums sold millions. His songs hit the airwaves and never left.

In 1973 Santana met and married Deborah King. They had three children and over the next 25 years while raising a family, Santana went on to record more than 20 albums.

But they were jazzier, more experimental and less commercial. One by one, the record companies stopped calling.

Mitchell: Did some in the music industry count you out?

Santana: Oh yeah. They said I was too old, that I was, it wasn't relevant. That was the word they kept using. 'You're not relevant anymore.' 'You're not part of what is happening today.'

Just when it seemed Santana would fade into the rock 'n' roll twilight, his wife Deborah made a suggestion: why not team up with an old friend and make a new album. The friend was record producer Clive Davis and the result was "Supernatural."

Released in 1999, "Supernatural" was a blockbuster. It won a record-tying eight Grammy Awards, including Best Record and Song of the Year. Thirty years after Woodstock at age 52, Santana had his first number one album.

Mitchell: Did you have any idea "Supernatural" was going to be as huge as it was? Did you see it coming?

Santana: No. No, never. I felt that maybe if we sell platinum, it would be something to celebrate.

Mitchell: That's a million copies.

Santana: That's a million copies.

Mitchell: And you sold how many?

Santana: They say it's 25-times platinum.

He followed up with another success, "Shaman" in 2002. The hit machine, it seemed, was in high gear.

But with renewed success came renewed stress on his marriage.

Santana: It became almost like something to be afraid of. The only stuff that scared me was losing Deborah and my kids through a divorce. When I saw Deborah's eyes, and saw that we were losing something, I was losing something, she was losing something. Stop!

Mitchell: And this was because you were so busy, there was so much going on?

Santana: Yeah. We were so busy, my kids are transitioning from high school to college. You know they're going through a difficult time. They needed to sit down with Deborah and I, but I couldn't do that if I was in Frankfurt playing a concert. So we just stopped for a year and a half. We stopped.