1966–1972: Formation and breakthrough

In 1966, Mexican-born American musician Carlos Santana discovered San Francisco's hippie and counterculture movement and found himself "wanting to be part of this new wave." Later that year, he began to assemble his own band, the first line-up of which included Sergio "Gus" Rodriguez on bass, Danny Haro on drums, and Michael Carabello on percussion. In January 1967, the four were granted an audition spot for concert promoter Bill Graham at the Fillmore Auditorium on a bill with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Charles Lloyd Quartet, and named themselves the Santana Blues Band. Within a month, the group expanded with the addition of Tom Fraser on guitar and vocals, who also brought in Gregg Rolie on organ and vocals. The band stalled for several weeks, however, after Carlos was hospitalised with tuberculosis. In June 1967, Graham fired the group from performing at the Fillmore after some members turned up late for a gig supporting The Who and Loading Zone. The incident drove Carlos to bring in new and committed musicians, keeping Rolie with him. By the year's end, the band adopted the shorter name of Santana. Until early 1969, the band were joined by Marcus Malone on percussion, who left the group after being convicted of manslaughter.

1973–1979: Experimentation and consolidation

Thirteen months after Caravanserai, Santana released Welcome. Welcome was the first of four consecutive albums to achieve gold certification, as opposed to the previous four, which all at least reached platinum status. The album peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200, the lowest of the band's career so far. The next few albums contained a more experimental style than their previous work, beginning with Borboletta, which fared arguably worse than its predecessor, despite climbing five spots higher on the Billboard album charts in the US.

The group's 1976 release, Amigos, was far more successful. Reaching No. 10 on the US charts and also hitting the Top 10 in France, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, and the Netherlands, it was a return to the success of their early albums. Festival did not obtain the same newfound success, but it was followed by another successful album, Moonflower, released in 1977. The album was possibly the most successful since Santana III, achieving 2× platinum in the US, and being the first album since 1974's Borboletta to break the Top 10 in the UK. It was characterized by a stylistic shift for the band, as it contained heavier influences from the more conventional sound of the group's early work, while still maintaining the experimental sound of their last few albums.

1980–1997: Commercial decline and seven-year hiatus

The 1980s started relatively brightly for Santana, with 1981's platinum-selling Zebop!, which also reached the Top 20 in several countries, and continued the more conventional rock sound. The following year, Shangó was released; this album marked a steep decline in the band's commercial fortunes, although it still achieved gold status.

The group waited another three years to release the follow-up, the longest break for them so far. 1985's Beyond Appearances was a commercial failure and their first album not to achieve gold certification. Their following three releases all continued this commercial decline, with the last of these failing to break the Billboard Top 100. In the midst of this commercial pitfall, the band stopped recording material for an unprecedented seven years but continued to tour.

1998–2001: Supernatural and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In 1998, Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The following year, their album Supernatural (1999) debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 and reached No. 1 after eighteen weeks. Also reaching No. 1 were two singles: "Smooth", recorded with Rob Thomas, and "Maria Maria" featuring The Product G&B. The album was certified platinum 15 times by the RIAA and sold 30 million copies worldwide. Santana's previous No. 1 album had been Santana III in 1971. According to Guinness World Records, this is the longest gap between No. 1 albums.

Supernatural won eight Grammy Awards, including the award for Album of the Year, and also won three Latin Grammy Awards.

2002–2012: Dealing with newfound success

The follow-up to Supernatural came three years later and was highly anticipated by international media and fans alike. On October 22, 2002, Shaman was released worldwide. Although it initially sold briskly (298,973 copies in the US in its first week) and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, the album's appeal quickly wore off and it soon slid down the charts. Despite this, it went on to sell 2× platinum in the US, and achieved platinum status in several other countries including Australia. The first single released from the album, "The Game of Love", which featured vocals from Michelle Branch, debuted at number 5 on the Hot 100. The album's next four singles failed to chart in most countries, but the final single, "Why Don't You & I", featuring the vocals of Alex Band, reached number 8 on the Hot 100. Musically, the album was a return to a more conventional sound for the group, with a mainly Latin rock-based sound.

With their renewed appeal worn off, another three-year wait saw the release of 2005's All That I Am. The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 but fared worse internationally, and quickly lost appeal. The album, a continuation of the Latin-rock influenced sound of Shaman, achieved gold certification in the US. A five-year break from recording saw the release of another studio album, Guitar Heaven (2010). Musically it was a drastic change for the band, with a far heavier sound at its core and strong heavy metal influences. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 but marked another decline for the band, failing to achieve gold status.

2013–2020: Reunion of the classic line-up, Corazón, Santana IV, and Africa Speaks

In February 2013, Carlos Santana confirmed that he would reunite his classic line-up, most of whom played Woodstock with him in 1969. Santana stated that he was reuniting the group with the intention of recording new music. Confirmed for the reunion were Neal Schon, who was in the band in the early 1970s where he traded lead guitar work with Santana before leaving with founding Santana singer-organist Gregg Rolie in 1973 to form Journey; drummer Mike Shrieve and percussionist Mike Carabello. Santana said of Rolie, who played with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band for the last two years, "I'm pretty sure Gregg's going to do it." In February 2013, Rolie told Radio.com, "it's (the reunion) just a matter of putting it together and going and doing it. I would do it. I think it's a great idea. People would love it. It could be great!"

Before the reunion album was released, on May 6, 2014, the then-current lineup of Santana released a new studio album titled Corazón. On September 9, 2014, this was followed by the release of Corazón – Live from Mexico: Live It to Believe It, a live album (on CD, DVD and Blu-ray) of their December 14, 2013 concert in Guadalajara, Mexico.

2021–2024: Blessings and Miracles

On 18 and 20 August 2021, "Move" and "She's Fire", the first and second singles taken from Santana's (then) forthcoming new album Blessings and Miracles, were released; it was announced that the album would be released on 15 October 2021 via BMG Entertainment.

2025–present: Sentient

On 21 February 2025, it was announced the upcoming release via Candid Records of Sentient, Santana's new studio album, a retrospective of 11 tracks featuring collaborations with other artists including Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Miles Davis, Paolo Rustichelli, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Cindy Blackman Santana. The album includes "Whatever Happens", a track from Michael Jackson's last album, Invincible; remastered tracks such as "Let the Guitar Play", a re-work of "Song for Cindy" from Blessings and Miracles featuring Darryl "DMC" McDaniels; Grammy Awards winner "Blues for Salvador"; and three new tracks: Smokey Robinson's "Please Don't Take Your Love", "Coherence", and a track featuring Cindy Blackman Santana. It also includes an instrumental live version of Michael Jackson's "Stranger in Moscow" recorded in 2012 with Carlos as guest of Narada Michael Walden's band. The album was released on 28 March 2025.

On 16 April 2025 in Highland, California at the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel, Santana embarked on the eight-date Oneness North American tour, which ended on 29 April 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee at The Pinnacle.

On 9 June 2025 in Łódź, Poland at the Atlas Arena, Santana embarked on the 29-date Oneness Europe and UK tour. The tour included a show on 21 June 2025 in London, England, at The O2 and a seven-date leg in Spain from 26 July to 4 August 2025; it was due to end on 11 August 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.