At this time, the band chose the name “Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer.” “Fleetwood Mac” was a mashup of the names of Fleetwood and McVie. This is a gracious touch, as after all Peter Green wrote the song. In the early 60s, he was a member of various British blues bands. However, after a couple of verses it segues into an interesting blues jam, featuring some very creative guitar licks by Peter Green. He was brought in together with original Fleetwood Mac bandmates Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan. In the mid-70s, Santana became interested in the work of John McLaughlin of The Mahavishnu Orchestra. His performance at Woodstock made Santana an overnight sensation. Here is a video clip of a very youthful Carlos Santana in a live performance of Black Magic Woman. He left the group in the early 70s and suffered from schizophrenia. About a year later, Green and Fleetwood left Mayall’s band to form their own blues combo. ), and bits of live performances by Brown. He is the person playing second guitar lead along with Carlos. Note the robe that Green is wearing; this will be mentioned later in our blog post. It was a thrilling performance – he played most of his old classic hits from the 60s and 70s, together with a number of his newer songs. He rarely used fuzztones, pedal boards, or “wha- wha” sounds. However, Green’s most serious issues were his psychological problems, which were exacerbated by his continuing struggle with drug addiction. Graham and his associates scrambled to assemble an impromptu group to jam in Butterfield’s place, and Carlos Santana was invited to join this band. ( Log Out /  Wikipedia, Fleetwood Mac (Photo by George Wilkes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images). This was all before Fleetwood Mac became a soap opera in which all the members slept with each other and fought in public. In 1968, Peter Green wrote “Black Magic Woman,” and began his course to become one of the most praised guitarists in rock music. In particular, a number of Green’s songs transformed Fleetwood Mac from a classic blues cover band to one that featured more creative power-pop tunes. Fleetwood Mac released Black Magic Woman as a single in 1968. Santana’s cover of Peter Green’s Black Magic Woman transforms that song into a Latin-infused pop tune that incorporates African rhythms. When record companies went bust, their albums tended to be absorbed into the inventory of other companies. It wasn’t a Santana song, but Fleetwood Mac. The band had constant changes in personnel at their start. He was born in Mexico in July 1947, and he was taught violin and guitar at a young age by his father, a mariachi musician. And here is a later video of Santana performing Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen. Rightfully so, Peter Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in in 1998. Shortly thereafter, John McVie joined the group. The spiritual lifestyle was largely incompatible with life as a rock musician, and in addition Carlos and Deborah were upset that Chimnoy refused to allow them to start a family. Now, we are not talking about the Fleetwood Mac you know, run by Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Green himself was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. However, I find the video to be curious and unsatisfying. The song was a modest hit in Britain, reaching #37 on the UK Singles charts. I believe that this video marks an historic occasion, the 1998 induction of the original Santana band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. King  praised him, “He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”  Peter Green went on to work on various guitar projects while battling mental illness. So I am embarrassed that I can’t remember exactly who was in the lineup when I caught them in 1966, although I am quite certain that Eric Clapton was not the lead guitarist at that time. The founder of Fleetwood Mac is Peter Green. Exploring roots of rock music using comparisons of original songs and covers of those songs. After Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970, the band experienced a chaotic few years. But his subsequent introduction to LSD was associated with dramatic mental health problems. Others honored on that program included Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Mahalia Jackson. Below is a photo of the band Santana performing at the Altamont Speedway in Dec. 1969. The original band name was “Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer.” The band was playing mostly blues and jazz in the early days. B.B. Green left that band in May 1970, and for a short time he pursued a solo career. Black Magic Woman was a smash hit for Santana, eventually reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Peter Green is a very under-appreciated musician. We will review the original performed by Fleetwood Mac. Carlos Santana is one of the greatest guitar players of our time.