Santana is the third studio album by Santana. The band's second self-titled album, it is often referred to as III to distinguish it from the band's 1969 debut album. The album was also known as Man with an Outstretched Hand. It was the third and last album by the Woodstock-era lineup, and it was also considered by many to be the band's peak commercially and musically, as subsequent releases aimed towards more experimental jazz and Latin music. The album featured two singles, "Everybody's Everything" (solo by Neal Schon), which hit #12 in October 1971, and "No One To Depend On" (again with solo by Schon), a staple in FM radio. This is the first album to feature 17-year-old Schon on guitar. In 1972, he and Gregg Rolie left the band to form Journey.
The original album was recorded at Columbia Studios, San Francisco.
Santana III was also the last Santana album to hit #1 on the charts until Supernatural in 1999. According to Guinness Book of World Records 2005, this is the longest delay between #1 albums ever occurring. The original album was re-released in 1998 with live versions of "Batuka", "Jungle Strut" and a previously unreleased song, "Gumbo", recorded at Fillmore West in 1971 which features lead guitar solos by both Santana and Schon.
As was done with the band's debut album, released two years earlier, in 2006 Sony released the "Legacy Edition" of the album, featuring the original album in re-mastered sound, and bonus material:
Three other songs recorded in the sessions for the album
The single version of "No One to Depend On"
The complete 1971 Fillmore West concert (from which the 1998 bonus tracks were taken)