Santana (1969 album)

Santana
Studio album by Santana
Released	August 22, 1969[1]
Recorded	May 1969
Studio	Pacific, San Mateo
Genre	Latin rock jazz fusion psychedelic rock
Length	37:15
Label	Columbia
Producer	Santana Brent Dangerfield
Santana chronology
Santana (1969) Abraxas (1970)
Singles from Santana
"Jingo" Released: October 1969 "Evil Ways" Released: January 1970

Santana is the debut studio album by American Latin rock band Santana. It was released on August 22, 1969. Over half of the album's length is composed of instrumental music, recorded by what was originally a purely free-form jam band. At the suggestion of manager Bill Graham, the band took to writing more conventional songs for more impact, but managed to retain the essence of improvisation in the music.

The album was destined to be a major release, given a boost by the band's performance at the Woodstock Festival earlier that August. The album's first single, "Jingo", was only a modest performer, spending eight weeks on the chart and reaching #56;^[2] however, "Evil Ways", the second single taken from the album, was a U.S. Top 10 hit, reaching #9 and spending thirteen weeks on the chart.^[2] The album spent more than two years (108 weeks) on the Billboard 200 pop album chart and peaked at #4 in November 1969.^[3] It also reached #26 on the UK Albums Chart. It has been mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. The album cover features artwork by Lee Conklin.