Synopses & Reviews
The intimate and long-awaited autobiography of a legendIn 1967 in San Francisco, just a few weeks after the Summer of Love, a young Mexican guitarist took the stage at the Fillmore Auditorium and played a blistering solo that announced the arrival of a prodigious musical talent. Two years later -- after he played a historic set at Woodstock -- the world came to know the name Carlos Santana, his sensual and instantly recognizable guitar sound, and the legendary band that blended electric blues, psychedelic rock, Latin rhythms, and modern jazz, and that still bears his name.
Carlos Santana's unforgettable memoir offers a page-turning tale of musical self-determination and inner self-discovery, with personal stories filled with colorful detail and life-affirming lessons. The Universal Tone traces his journey from his earliest days playing the strip bars in Tijuana while barely in his teens and brings to light the establishment of his signature guitar sound; his roles as husband, father, recording legend, and rock guitar star; his indebtedness to musical and spiritual influences -- from John Coltrane and John Lee Hooker to Miles Davis and Harry Belafonte; and his deep, lifelong dedication to a spiritual path that he developed from his Catholic upbringing, Eastern philosophies, and other mystical sources. It includes his recording some of the most popular and influential rock albums of all time, up to and beyond the 1999 sensation Supernatural, which garnered nine Grammy Awards and stands as arguably the most amazing career comeback in popular music history.
It's a profoundly inspiring tale of divine inspiration and musical fearlessness that does not balk at finding the humor in the world of high-flying fame, or at speaking plainly of Santana's personal revelations and the infinite possibility he sees in each person he meets. "Love is the light that is inside of all of us, everyone," he writes. "I salute the light that you are and that is inside your heart."
Review
"Passion, soul, and that elusive thing called sabor come through the music of Carlos Santana. His is always a surprising sound, ahead of its time -- true world music before the term was even invented, but uniquely American in its multicultural reach....Santana is an artist who transcends musical genres and touches the heart across all generations." -- The Kennedy Center
Review
"One of rock's true virtuosos and guiding lights." -- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Review
"A thread runs through his multicultural, crossgenerational music: the unifying power of the human spirit." -- John Roos, Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
The intimate and long-awaited memoir of guitar legend Carlos Santana In the realm of guitar gods, Santana stands alone for what's come to be called his "universal tone"-both the fact that you can recognize a Santana song from just one note and the fact that Santana is well known to believe music and soul are interconnected.
In the category of major rock memoirs yet undone, this is at the top-a big autobiography by one of the most mysterious and influential musicians of the last 50 years.
From growing up dirt poor in Mexico and suffering abuse to becoming a lowly dishwasher in the US with a hot guitar hand, to a person whom you might almost think is perpetually in a state of nirvana or at least bliss, this is the story of a fascinating man who brings the ideal combination of storytelling gold and a major marketing machine.
This is one of the most sensory (and sensual) major rock bios you'll ever read. His voice comes through, it's deeply honest and frank, and from imagining the wisps of smoke from a long gone Miles Davis before Carlos's shows to describing the depths of his connection to sound, Santana brings a remarkable book to his huge following this fall.
About the Author
Carlos Santana was born in Mexico and is one of the most important rock musicians of our time. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.