"...no one, perhaps not even Santana himself, imagined just how successful Supernatural would be."
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| Carlos says of Supernatural "You can really feel God's hand in this... usually when you do a CD with so many incredibly talented people there's no glue, there's no cohesiveness. But on Supernatural, everyone involved... understood the intentions, motives and purpose of making this CD. We all hit the bullseye." |
Fortunately, there were still people in the record industry who believed Carlos Santana could be a commercial success. Arista Records chief Clive Davis thought so, and signed Santana to the label, almost 30 years after Davis first signed the young Latin guitarist to Columbia Records. The concept the first recording Santana would make for Arista was one familiar to Davis (who co-produced the effort); pair the guitarist up with popular guest stars, and try and introduce him to a younger audience. Arista certainly spared no expense in the effort; appearances by Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), Everlast, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Eric Clapton, and others, ensured that the recording would receive significantly higher visibility than a typical Santana release. But no one, perhaps not even Santana himself, imagined just how successful Supernatural would be.
The album's first single, "Smooth" (a collaboration with Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas), was the longest running number one song of 1999, remaining in the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for 12 consecutive weeks. Supernatural became Santana's first chart-topping album in almost 30 years when it hit number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart in October. It's continued success is truly remarkable; the album has enjoyed three separate stays at the top of the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. The album's overall sales are nearly as staggering; Supernatural has gone seven times platinum in the USA, in just a seven month period. All this from a guitarist whom many people considered "washed up" less than a year ago.
