Date of Show: Nov. 4, 1984

Where: Gymnasium

Carlos Santana performed in the gymnasium at Stony Brook University on Sunday Nov. 4, 1984 at 9 p.m. By this year, he was already widely famous. In an article from a Nov. 7, 1984 issue of The Statesman, student reporter, Ellen Breidner, noted that a round of applause was needed for the Stony Brook Concerts for the great show they put on.

Santana has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. The band’s early success, capped off by a memorable performance at Woodstock in 1969, led to them signing a recording contract with Columbia Records. The 1969 Woodstock performance introduced the band to an international audience and gained critical acclaim.

Santana’s record sales in the 1990s were very low, resulting with the group not having a contract. However, Arista Records‘ Clive Davis, signed him and encouraged him to record a star-studded album with mostly younger artists. The result was 1999’s Supernatural. That album is best known for the hit single “Smooth,” a dynamic number co-written and sung by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. “Smooth” spent twelve weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the last No. 1 single of the 1990s. Supernatural reached No.1  on the U.S. album charts and the follow-up single, “Maria Maria,” featuring the The Product G&B, also hit No. 1, spending ten weeks there in the spring of 2000. Supernatural eventually sold over 15 million copies in the United States, making it Santana’s biggest sales success by far.

Santana will release his newest album, Shape Shifter, in May. Shape Shifter is his 36th album and is a 13-song instrumental force featuring tracks spanning from the late 1990s to the present.