Taboo

Album: Santana III (1971)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, the singer is longing for the girl of his dreams, but he is afraid to make the first move for fear of losing her. Early on, Santana was a blues band, and that sound comes through hear. It has a similar feel to their version of "Black Magic Woman," which appears on their previous album, Abraxas.
  • "Taboo" was pieced together from three different takes. The intro and ending were done at the same time, and the middle section was done last. There is a very rough edit at the end of Santana's final guitar solo, and drummer Mike Shrieve botches his drum part in the intro.
  • This was written by Santana keyboard player Gregg Rolie and percussionist José "Chepito" Areas. Rolie sang lead.
  • The album was recorded during a tumultuous period for the band. After stealing the show at Woodstock in 1969, they had an instant audience for their first album, released two weeks later. They followed in 1970 with Abraxas, which sold 5 million copies and went to #1 in America. For Santana III, they added guitarist Neal Schon to the lineup and delivered another #1 album, but the band was starting to fracture. The stopped playing live soon after the album was released and didn't return for about a year. Schon and Rolie left for Journey in 1973 as Santana's lineup and sound shifted. The group ebbed and flowed in popularity throughout the '70s and '80s, but the '90s were bleak, at least until 1999 when they released their Supernatural album, which was mostly Carlos Santana and a host of top-draw guest performers.
  • Like many Santana songs of this era, the title is never sung in the lyrics. "Taboo" means forbidden, indicating something mysterious about the girl in the song. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Jim - Oxnard, CA

Comments: 3

  • Lester from New York City, NyFirst three Journey albums (pre Steve Perry) are rock-fusion albums. Seems Greg and Neal wanted to get somewhat jazzy themselves. The third album, 'Next' is spectacular.
  • Michael from Sacramento, CaThe final guitar solo is played by Neal Schon. Neal gets just about half of the guitar solo space on this album, including the solo on Everybody's Everything.
  • Michael from Chicago, IlYes, the item about the song being performed during a band dispute is true: Carlos wanted to go in a more jazzy direction than Greg and Neal. Also, a lot of people don't know that the bassist (who often seems to be the first instrument you hear on the first SANTANA albums, was David Brown, a cousin of Sly Stone.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.