Santana's Black Magic Woman
 

This has probably been asked somewhere before, but is there any record of Peter's reaction to Santana recording his song?

I absolutely love both's many performances and recordings of it up to the present. I am not into organ sounds at all (ruining Vanilla Fudge for me), but Gregg Rollie transcends the instrument creating some real magis (and always has strong but mellow bluesy vocals). Carlos' guitar work always seems inspired on this track, and Neal Schon's when he was with the group.

I don't know that there is, but considering Greenie performed it with Santana at the RnR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, I'd say he didn't have a problem with it.

I remember reading something, but I can't recall where or when.

Does that include Christine's fantastic work on "I'm So Afraid"?

What about Gregg Allman? Steve Winwood? Benmont Tench with the Heartbreakers?

Yes. I would like Allman Bros., Traffic and The Heartbreakers just fine minus the organ sounds; substitute something else. For some reason organs sound like old The Three Suns records or something to me almost every time. My Mom played it in her and my Dad's band. I like what Stereolab has done with organ sounds most of the time though. I do like the organ in Dylan's classic 'Like A Rolling Stone' recording though, another rare exception for me, who knows why, it adds where the rest just get in the way.

P.S. I can't remember any organ in I'm So Afraid which means to me it might as well not have been there. I can recall the drums and the guitar licks and if there was organ it might have been a mere echo of those to my ears.

Peter was a fan of Santana...some sources says that the drummer and bass player from Santana played on "The end of the game" sessions, but they're not on the released music. I have several live tapes from the Splinter years where he introduces the song as "now we're gonna play the Santana hit", tongue firmly in cheek i think..

In Celmins' book, Peter is quoted as saying "I didn't especially like Santana's version when I first heard it, but then I've grown used to it. But I've always felt very grateful about Carlos doing a cover because Santana made me so much more well known in America - none of my other records did well over there." The book also mentions how much Peter loves playing the song, and that Santana's verison encouraged him to go back on the road with the Splinter Group in 1995, also noting that the Splinter Group's version was somewhere in between the Fleetwood Mac and Santana versions. And as already noted, Peter choosing to play with Santana at the R&RHOF induction says a lot.

That's cool that Peter could check his ego to offer a compliment like that. Then again, he never really had much of one to begin with.

I was one who knew the Santana version for years and didn't even know it was done, and written, by someone else. When I became enlightened to the Mac original I was struck by how much Carlos emulated Greeny's solos.
I still liked the Santana version, but I love the original much more.

I missed the Greeny/Santana perfomance from the R&R HOF show. I'd love to see and hear that. Has it been released anywhere where I can get my hands on it? Did Peter sing the vocal and take a solo?

That's some interesting history between Santana and Peter Green. Thanks for passing it on! The Santana version from their live DVD of a couple years ago is like an afro-latin version with Olatunji type drums more than before, almost like Jingo was blended in. Originally Santana was titled the Santana Blues Band, and there was a CD of a Fillmore West appearance from 1967 with the original line-up. Chepito Areas came in before the first studio LP with the bongos and shook things up.

I'm glad that the founders of two of my favorite groups got along, that's great! Mike Shrieve was sure a great drummer like Mick Fleetwood! If only FM had been at Woodstock too, but then maybe the brown acid would have gotten to them!

P.S.: I actually do like The Three Suns, but for the guitars (whoever they are playing on the tracks with guitars), not the accordian or organ parts. Just in case I get set upon by a Suns worshipper.

P.P.S.: Just learned while typing that Johnny of Johnny And The Hurricanes died yesterday. You know, Red River Rock. Coincidence as I mentioned not liking organs... :^(

I have an audio recording of it. He didn't sing, but played a beautidul solo, very well performed, during the middle part of the song. I have no video of it though.

It was Peter's tune "The Supernatural" that first caught Carlos' attention.

According to a recent (within the last 5 years) Guitar Player magazine interview with PG, he said (paraphrasing, since I couldn't quickly find the actual article) "Yeah, Carlos took hold of that and made a career of it. I guess you have ME to blame for that!" :lol:

Santana also quotes almost verbatim from Green's "I Loved Another Woman" on his version of "BMW"
and Green of course based "I Loved Another Woman" on Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talkin'" -
interestingly, even with two guitar players on that track, the greatly underrated Willie Johnson and Otis "Smokey" Smothers, it is Wolf's harmonica and a tenor sax that dominate the mix -

Although unstated by Peter, one can also hear a smathering of Otis Rush's "All Your Love" in there, too.:D (which was also a Bluesbreaker staple)

For some reason, Rush is rarely mentioned when you read about artists who were influential on the burgeoning British Blues scene, and yet, his numbers were covered by some of the scene's most important guitarists.

His songs can be viewed as a "rite of passage" for guitarists joining the Bluesbreakers:

Clapton: "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)"
Green: "So Many Roads, So Many Trains" & "Double Trouble"
Taylor: "I Can't Quit You Baby"

Green covered three of his songs while with Fleetwood Mac - (the studio version of "It Takes Time" saw him backed by the Brunning Sunflower Band, but he did perform it live, in an amazing seven minute tour-de-force, in Stockholm in November of 1969 with Fleetwood Mac) and even Spencer recorded three of his songs while with FM:

Love the Woman - out take, "Mr. Wonderful" sessions
My Baby's A Good 'Un - "London Live '68"
I Have To Laugh - "Live At the BBC"

Add to that his influence on Hendrix and his impact has even greater reach

Wasn't this a Willie Dixon tune? Or, is this a different tune with the same title?

Clapton later did "Double Trouble" on his No Reason To Cry album.