Santana (1969 album) Santana (1969 album) Santana is the debut studio album by American Latin rock band Santana. It was released on August 30, 1969. Over half of the album's length is composed of instrumental music, recorded by what was originally a purely free-form jam band. At the suggestion of manager Bill Graham, the band took to writing more conventional songs for more impact, but managed to retain the essence of improvisation in the music. The album was destined to be a major release, given a headstart by the band's performance at the Woodstock Festival earlier that August. "Jingo" was not very successful
Max Yasgur also believed strongly in freedom of expression, and was angered by the hostility of some townspeople toward "anti-war hippies". Hosting the festival became, for him, a "cause". On the third day of the festival, just before Joe Cocker's early afternoon set, Yasgur addressed the crowd. Many of his neighbors turned against him after the festival, and he was no longer welcome at the town general store, but he never regretted his decision to allow the concert on his farm. On January 7, 1970, he was sued by his neighbors for property damage caused by the concert attendees. However, the damage