Santana (1969 album)

Santana is the debut studio album by American Latin rock band Santana, released on August 22, 1969, by Columbia Records. 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; 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. The album spent more than two years (108 weeks) on the Billboard Top LPs chart and peaked at #4 in November 1969. It also reached #34 on the UK Albums Chart. It has been mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. The album cover features artwork by Lee Conklin.