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

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian OrchestraSongwriter Interviews

Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.