reader hero stories
Carlos Santana
Back in the mid 70’s, I was taking guitar lessons. My teacher told me to get the Deluxe Santana song book. I had heard Black Magic Woman on the radio, but that was all I really knew about Santana. We started learning songs out of the book beginning with Samba Pa Ti, a beautiful instrumental featuring Carlos’ guitar playing. One night I was checking the TV guide and saw that PBS was showing a concert called An Evening With Santana. Excellent! I will get a chance to see Santana play. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see.
They started out with the song Carnival/Let The Children Play. The first part of the song is a festive chorus that features Latin percussion but not much guitar, then all of a sudden the song changes and, out of the mix, this GIANT guitar note — just one note — from Carlos’ guitar reached right inside me. I was mesmerized. How could one note be so huge? As I watched the rest of the concert it became apparent that Santana was all about a guitar player who poured his solo out through his guitar. By the time Carlos played his showcase instrumental Europa, Carlos Santana had become one of my guitar heroes. This was before DVDs (even before VCRs), but I wish I could get a DVD of that show!
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- Santana
Maybe it was a concert, or a CD (or an LP for us older players), or a song on the radio. There is usually one defining moment when we hear a player for the first time and they become our hero.
Here is your chance to tell the story of how a particular player became your hero. If you have an interesting story to tell, simply email me the story. Be sure to include the name of your hero and your name.
