Black Magic Woman
Santana, 1970. Solo by Carlos Santana.
Latin, blues and jazz in one sustained tone.
Santana opens with an introduction drawn from Gabor Szabo's 'Gypsy Queen', all hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, before Peter Green's minor-key song settles in. After Gregg Rolie's vocal, he plays long, sustained lines that drift between Dorian and Aeolian colours, letting single notes hang and sing over the congas and timbales. The Les Paul tone is warm and almost violin-like, and the patience of the phrasing matters as much as the notes themselves. This is the sound that turned a Fleetwood Mac single into a cornerstone of Latin rock and set Carlos's voice for decades. Listen for how he swells notes into sustain, then lets the band surge into the faster 'Gypsy Queen' coda.
Black Magic Woman by Santana is ranked #84 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Carlos Santana and the song was released in 1970. It appears on 9 lists, placing as high as #9 (TrueFire Blog).
The story of Black Magic Woman
'Black Magic Woman' began as a Peter Green song for Fleetwood Mac, recorded in London in February 1968 and released that March. Green reportedly drew on his girlfriend Sandra Elsdon and on an older blues. The original, a minor blues with a gentle Latin lilt, reached only No. 37 in the UK and did not chart in America, but it caught the ear of musicians in San Francisco, where Fleetwood Mac played the Fillmore West.
Keyboardist Gregg Rolie brought the song to Santana, and the band worked it up early on, reportedly running through it during a soundcheck in Fresno. Carlos Santana had admired Green's playing and paired the tune with 'Gypsy Queen', a 1966 instrumental by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo, creating a medley. Carlos has described his approach to arranging as cooking, adding a pinch of Otis Rush here and some Wes Montgomery there.
Santana recorded the medley for its second album, Abraxas, at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco and Pacific Recorders in San Mateo between April 17 and May 2, 1970, co-producing with Fred Catero. Rolie sang lead and played organ, while congas, timbales and other percussion from Jose 'Chepito' Areas and Michael Carabello stacked polyrhythms under the song, giving it a darker, more hypnotic groove than Green's version.
Abraxas was released on September 23, 1970 and became Santana's first No. 1 album in the US. The edited single climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. The royalties reportedly helped support Peter Green after he left Fleetwood Mac, and Santana's reading has become the best-known version of the song.
The solo
The track opens with Carlos Santana playing the 'Gypsy Queen'-flavored introduction, built from hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, before the song's Dm7 to Am7 to Gm7 progression arrives. After Rolie's vocals, Santana stretches out in long, sustained, singing phrases that mix Dorian and Aeolian colours, then the band shifts gear into the up-tempo 'Gypsy Queen' coda. His guitar is usually identified as a Gibson Les Paul: Guitar Player reports that a 1968 Les Paul Custom was his main workhorse on Abraxas and produced the leads on this track, while Songfacts describes a Les Paul Special and says he worked the volume knob to shape sustain and distortion. The amplifier used on the session is not documented in these sources. The combination of a warm, violin-like tone and patient, lyrical phrasing became Santana's signature.
Legacy
Santana's version became one of the band's staples and one of its biggest hits, far outselling Fleetwood Mac's original and helping turn Abraxas into a multi-platinum No. 1 album later chosen for the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. The medley is a cornerstone of Latin rock and a model for combining blues vocabulary with Afro-Cuban rhythm. When Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Peter Green joined them on stage to play the song, a meeting of the composer and the guitarist who made it famous.
Top 10 facts about Black Magic Woman
Peter Green's original Fleetwood Mac single reached only No. 37 in the UK and missed the US chart.
WikipediaSantana's medley adds Gabor Szabo's 1966 instrumental 'Gypsy Queen' to Green's song.
WikipediaGregg Rolie brought the song to the band and sang lead on the recording.
MusicRadarAbraxas was recorded between April 17 and May 2, 1970 at Wally Heider Studios and Pacific Recorders.
WikipediaThe single peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971 and spent seven weeks in the top 10.
SongfactsGuitar Player reports Santana used a 1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom, bought at Prune Music in San Francisco, as his main Abraxas guitar.
Guitar PlayerSantana manipulated his guitar's volume knob to control sustain and distortion on the solo, according to Songfacts.
SongfactsThe 1974 Santana Greatest Hits album left off the 'Gypsy Queen' section even though radio usually played both parts together.
SongfactsAbraxas was selected for the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry in 2015.
WikipediaPeter Green joined Santana to play the song at the 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.
Wikipedia
Live versions
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, with Peter Green (1998) The song's composer sat in with Santana, keeping his guitar volume low.
- Fleetwood Mac, An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour (2018) Stevie Nicks sang the song with altered lyrics on the 2018-2019 tour.
- Fleetwood Mac extended jams (Fillmore East era) After Jeremy Spencer left in 1971, the band stretched it into long instrumental jams.
Notable covers
- Bob Welch (2006) Former Fleetwood Mac member's studio version on His Fleetwood Mac Years and Beyond, Vol. 2.
- Peter Green Splinter Group Green revisited his own song with his later band, per SecondHandSongs.
- Siggi Schwarz & The Rock Legends German guitarist's version listed by SecondHandSongs.
In our lists
- See Them Live — #26
- Deep Cuts — #43
- The 25 Greatest Latin Rock Guitar Solos — #2
- Played on a Les Paul — #22
Sources
- TrueFire Blog: A Look at the Top 10 Guitar Solos of All Time — #9
- SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum): 50 Baddest Guitar Solos — #20
- WatchMojo (article text): Top 30 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time — #22
- GuitarMetrics: 25 Best Guitar Solos of All Time (Ranked) — #22
- Classic Rock (Louder): The 100 greatest guitar solos in rock — #78
- Radio Beat: 88 kytarových sól na Beatu — #86
- Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #102
- Megarock.se: Rockens bästa gitarrsolon genom tiderna
- Musician Tuts: The 51 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time
- Wikipedia: Black Magic Woman
- Wikipedia: Abraxas (album)
- Songfacts: Black Magic Woman by Santana
- Guitar Player: Carlos Santana's 1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom
- MusicRadar: The song that passed from Peter Green to Carlos Santana
- SecondHandSongs: Black Magic Woman versions
Who played the guitar solo on Black Magic Woman?
Carlos Santana played the solo on Santana's Black Magic Woman (1970).
What guitar was used on the Black Magic Woman solo?
A gibson les paul, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Black Magic Woman rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#84 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 9 of them.
Who wrote Black Magic Woman?
Peter Green wrote it for Fleetwood Mac in 1968; Santana's medley adds Gabor Szabo's 'Gypsy Queen'.
Who sings Black Magic Woman by Santana?
Keyboardist Gregg Rolie sings lead on the Abraxas recording.
What guitar did Carlos Santana use on Black Magic Woman?
A Gibson Les Paul; Guitar Player identifies it as a 1968 Les Paul Custom, while Songfacts calls it a Les Paul Special.
Is Black Magic Woman a Santana original?
No, it is a cover of Fleetwood Mac's 1968 single, reworked as a Latin-rock medley.
What album is Black Magic Woman on?
Abraxas, Santana's 1970 album, which reached No. 1 in the US.