Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys – “Black Magic Woman” Live
Got Your Spell On Me Baby!
“Black Magic Woman” was originally recorded and released by Fleetwood Mac for their album, “English Rose.” It was written by Peter Green and was covered several times by other artists. For Carlos Santana, it became one of his classic hits. He recorded it in 1970 as a medley to “Gypsy Queen” and as a result, it was a beautiful infusion of Latin rhythm with jazz and some Hungarian folk.
- Peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100
- The album, “Abraxas” became a certified quadruple platinum.
A curious blend of blues, rock, jazz, 3/2 afro-Cuban son clave, and “Latin” polyrhythms, Santana’s arrangement added conga, timbales and other percussion, in addition to organ and piano, to make complex polyrhythms that give the song a “voodoo” feel distinct from the original.
In Santana’s original track, keyboardist Gregg Rolie provided the vocals BUT in this video, the one who sings the verses is no other than the famed singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. Selling over 35 millions albums worldwide, she would often sing about love and female empowerment. With her three octave contralto vocal range, it was a powerhouse performance from her and Santana!
We’d love to see (and hear!) more collaborations from them!
