1970 Hit Named Among Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time - And It Still Rocks
It doesn't happen often, but every now and then a musical cover takes on a life of its own and sees the original replaced with another iconic rendition.
Johnny Cash's Hurt is arguably the best, with the country icon's legendary cover of the Nine Inch Nails song. Santana sits in the same category with one of the band's most iconic songs being written and performed by a different group just two years before they made it their own.
Black Magic Woman was initially written by Peter Green for Fleetwood Mac in 1968, but Santana put a Latin flair on the song that drove it all the way up to No. 4 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for 13 weeks.
'Black Magic Woman' Named Among Best Guitar Solos
The magic in Black Magic Woman comes from an electric guitar solo from Santana that Rolling Stone ranked as the No. 28 greatest guitar solo of all time.
"So much of Carlos Santana's style of guitar comes from his expansive, omnidirectional range of influences: He learned to play from his father, a mariachi musician, and soon incorporated Latin jazz and blues influences, informing a preternatural, completely fluid way," Rolling Stone wrote.
"A lot of that defines the solo in Black Magic Woman, the bluesy classic written by Peter Green and first popularized by Fleetwood Mac. In Santana's dexterous hands, the song suddenly got a livewire burst of new energy, blended into conga-driven percussion. The sound gave the song new power while still preserving Green's dynamic solo, just adding Santana's touch - classic, effortless, and lingering a bit on the beat."
Carlos Santana Raved About Fleetwood Mac
Santana, like many musicians in the 1960's were obsessed with Fleetwood Mac's compositions.
"I used to go to see the original Fleetwood Mac, and they used to kill me, just knock me out," Santana said in the book The Guitar Greats. "To me, they were the best blues band."
Black Magic Woman initially broke into the band's soundcheck when keyboardist Gregg Rolie started playing the song.
"I swear to you, and this is for real, whenever we play the song, I remember the first time we played it in a soundcheck in Fresno in a parking lot," Santana said. "Gregg brought the song from Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green. And I remember saying, 'Hmm, I can bring a little bit of Otis Rush here and a little bit of Wes Montgomery here.'"
It led to one of the band's most iconic songs – and a legendary solo.
Related: One of the Greatest Drum Solos of All Time Belongs to 1966 Hit - And It Still Hits
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 6:20 PM.