Michael Carabello

Carabello was born in San Francisco and has Puerto Rican ancestry;^[1] he grew up in the city's Mission District.^[2] Later on in life, Carabello wanted to commission a mural depicting Carlos Santana, Bill Graham and himself, somewhere in the Mission District.^[3]

Carabello joined Santana in 1968 shortly before the band signed with Columbia Records,^[4] and primarily played congas for the band while occasionally playing piano.^[5] He appeared on the albums Santana,^[6] Abraxas,^[7] and Santana III,^[8] all of which were internationally successful, and he is also depicted with the band in the Woodstock film.^[9] He co-wrote several songs on those albums, and is the sole writer for the percussion-oriented track "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" on Abraxas.^[5]

Carabello left Santana in 1971. In 1998, Carabello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Santana.^[10] He is the only member of the Hall of Fame whose primary instrument is congas. In 2016, Carabello participated in a reunion of the classic-era Santana lineup for the album Santana IV.^[11] It was the first time he had recorded with Carlos Santana and some other former bandmates in 45 years.^[12]

Carabello formed the short-lived jazz band Cobra in 1975, and then settled into a career of teaching and art.^[2] He appeared on Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones in 1981.^[13]