I keep hearing that Prince was heavily influenced by Carlos Santana, but what songs of his reflect this?

Are there any from the SOTT era or is this something that came later?

Thank you

Heavy influence by Santana you can hear much more in the way

Prince played guitar ,not so much song writting wise,Santana himself didnt compose

too many songs himself

,most of Santans hit songs were

covers with a few

exceptions like Europa Samba Pa Ti

You can hear Santana influence in almost every guitar

solo Prince played Get It Up ,Everlastying Now ,God instrumental,

so many more

iF I WAS TO DESCRIBE Princes guitar soloing style i would say Prince

was Santana on steroids.

Regarding the actual songwritting influence

Interactive bass line sounds

like some Santana songs but i forgot which one

When Eye Lay My Hands On U

But I really don't know. Does he just mention Santana by name only?

iZsaZsa said:

When Eye Lay My Hands On U

But I really don't know. Does he just mention Santana by name only?

He says "Eye will touch thee in the softest manner, like Europa in the hands of Santana", then plays a hot guitar solo. Like Santana?

MarcelS67 said:

besides those already mentioned:

Damned if I do, Damned if I dont [guitar melody is pure santana]

Leader of the Band - written for Sheila E - P on guitar I think?

I'm getting it now.

RJOrion said:

doesnt really have a santana sounding song...but in alot of his guitar solos, Prince plays with a melodic, deliberate, Santana-esque feel and tone...like: Computer Blue Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad The Morning Papers

Yes, the style of his playing was much more "Santana-esque" than the style of Jimi - although many of his songs did reflect Jimi's influence.

*
Prince often played the "Santana medley" during his concerts featuring four of the band's songs, and he stated many times that Carlos's playing was a big influence on him.

*

Prince's answer to comparisons of his playing to Jimi Hendrix (RS interview 1985):

*

What do you think about the comparisons between you and Jimi Hendrix?

It’s only because he’s black. That’s really the only thing we have in common. He plays different guitar than I do. If they really listened to my stuff, they’d hear more of a Santana influence than Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix played more blues; Santana played prettier. You can’t compare people, you really can’t, unless someone is blatantly trying to rip somebody off. And you really can’t tell that unless you play the songs.

You’ve got to understand that there’s only so much you can do on an electric guitar. I don’t know what these people are thinking—they’re usually non-guitar-playing mamma-jammas saying this kind of stuff. There are only so many sounds a guitar can make. Lord knows I’ve tried to make a guitar sound like something new to myself.

[Edited 3/9/19 7:12am]

The "Question of U" version he released in one of last NPG Ahdio

fabriziovenerandi said:

The "Question of U" version he released in one of last NPG Ahdio

Yes, his guitar solo when he played that song live sounds very much like Santana's playing.

iZsaZsa said:

dodger said:

iZsaZsa said:

He says "Eye will touch thee in the softest manner, like Europa in the hands of Santana", then plays a hot guitar solo. Like Santana?

Yes! Along with the others listed you could maybe add Valentina’s guitar solo

The jam.

madhouseman said:

I keep hearing that Prince was heavily influenced by Carlos Santana, but what songs of his reflect this?

Are there any from the SOTT era or is this something that came later?

Thank you

You've been on here for 17 years almost, and you've yet to put a Santana and Prince connection together?! Then you ask specifically about SOTT era. Sounds like troll bait or a bored night at home, to me.

Santana was a much bigger influence on Prince than Jimi Hendrix, as people assume.

The solo in Valentina.

TrivialPursuit said:

madhouseman said:

I keep hearing that Prince was heavily influenced by Carlos Santana, but what songs of his reflect this?

Are there any from the SOTT era or is this something that came later?

Thank you

You've been on here for 17 years almost, and you've yet to put a Santana and Prince connection together?! Then you ask specifically about SOTT era. Sounds like troll bait or a bored night at home, to me.

Santana was a much bigger influence on Prince than Jimi Hendrix, as people assume.

Right ? Especially coming from him, of all people. Sounds almost like a newbie question.

.

But then again, maybe he´s working on a new book covering a new era and is looking for comparisons, and sometimes it´s better to include more than just one´s own observations.

I really like his Purple Rain era book and it would be nice if we could get a Parade or SOTT era studio sessions book in the future.

TrivialPursuit said:

madhouseman said:

I keep hearing that Prince was heavily influenced by Carlos Santana, but what songs of his reflect this?

Are there any from the SOTT era or is this something that came later?

Thank you

You've been on here for 17 years almost, and you've yet to put a Santana and Prince connection together?! Then you ask specifically about SOTT era. Sounds like troll bait or a bored night at home, to me.

Santana was a much bigger influence on Prince than Jimi Hendrix, as people assume.

Maybe a conversation starter?? I enjoy the "back and forth", and various ideas about specific sounds of his songs. Also, it's a way to bring newer fans into the mix to learn the history.

KoolEaze said:

TrivialPursuit said:

You've been on here for 17 years almost, and you've yet to put a Santana and Prince connection together?! Then you ask specifically about SOTT era. Sounds like troll bait or a bored night at home, to me.

Santana was a much bigger influence on Prince than Jimi Hendrix, as people assume.

Right ? Especially coming from him, of all people. Sounds almost like a newbie question.

.

But then again, maybe he´s working on a new book covering a new era and is looking for comparisons, and sometimes it´s better to include more than just one´s own observations.

I really like his Purple Rain era book and it would be nice if we could get a Parade or SOTT era studio sessions book in the future.

OMG....I'm chomping at the bit for him to do the '85-'87 years!!!!! Come on Duane, you can do it

violetcrush said:

Maybe a conversation starter?? I enjoy the "back and forth", and various ideas about specific sounds of his songs. Also, it's a way to bring newer fans into the mix to learn the history.

Perhaps. I'm going with KoolEaze's reply, though.

TrivialPursuit said:

violetcrush said:

Maybe a conversation starter?? I enjoy the "back and forth", and various ideas about specific sounds of his songs. Also, it's a way to bring newer fans into the mix to learn the history.

Perhaps. I'm going with KoolEaze's reply, though.

Yes - see my note above yours

Try In A Spanish Villa from the Apollonia 6 album. Quite Santana like.

mediumdry said:

Try In A Spanish Villa from the Apollonia 6 album. Quite Santana like.

Definitely a similar tone/sound on the guitar in that song...

The guitar at the end of The Word is very Santana-like.

Well, both thematically and sonically, 3121, Lotus and Musicology sound very Santana.

We could also just take Prince's word for his playing style, which I added on an earlier post He said he plays "prettier" - like Santana.

Check out the guitar solo of The Everlasting Now (toward the middle/end of the song) - it is VERY much Santana-inspired guitar playing.

KoolEaze said:

TrivialPursuit said:

You've been on here for 17 years almost, and you've yet to put a Santana and Prince connection together?! Then you ask specifically about SOTT era. Sounds like troll bait or a bored night at home, to me.

Santana was a much bigger influence on Prince than Jimi Hendrix, as people assume.

Right ? Especially coming from him, of all people. Sounds almost like a newbie question.

.

But then again, maybe he´s working on a new book covering a new era and is looking for comparisons, and sometimes it´s better to include more than just one´s own observations.

I really like his Purple Rain era book and it would be nice if we could get a Parade or SOTT era studio sessions book in the future.

Thank you KoolEaze. I'm currently working on a follow up book and I've had several people mention the connection with Santana in their interviews about Prince and have noted that Prince cited Carlos as well as an influence. Unfortunately, I'm not as familiar with Santana's music so I thought I'd ask the group because of the wealth of knowledge out there.

I mention his Santana like playing in the first book when discussing "In A Spanish Villa" (pg. 252 of the paperback), but since I'm working on a different era, I wanted to see if there was someone who knew of something I'd missed.

Thank you all for the responses and clarity, as well as the support. I want this book series to be as accurate as possible so it is always good to get the opinion of others. The org has a lot of people who see and hear things that the rest of us miss and I'm proud to be a part of the group for almost 17 years!

I read Santana as Sinatra. That was a strange few seconds...