In February 1968, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled debut album was released, introducing the original lineup consisting of drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie (Bob Brunning played bass on a track), and guitarists Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green. Rooted in the blues, the album contained a mix of covers by the likes of Robert Johnson and Elmore James, alongside originals written by Spencer and Green.
Later that year, Fleetwood Mac released a standalone single “Black Magic Woman,” which was written by Green, who died at age 73 on this date in 2020. Included on subsequently issued compilations, “Black Magic Woman” received little attention when Fleetwood Mac first shared the non-album track.
Green wrote the song about his then-girlfriend, Sandra Elsdon, who he called “Magic Mamma.” Elsdon was purportedly the inspiration behind the Green-written early-Fleetwood Mac songs, “Sandy Mary” and “Long Grey Mare.”
Before founding Fleetwood Mac, Green, Fleetwood and McVie did a stint as members of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Green replaced fellow British blues guitarist Eric Clapton. Green’s guitar playing with The Bluesbreakers had an impact on a young guitarist growing up in Tijuana, Mexico, who like Green, was heavily influenced by legendary blues guitarist B.B. King.
The young musician listening to Green and King was Carlos Santana, who would soon burst onto the psychedelic blues rock scene with his Latin-infused namesake band Santana.
In August 1969, days after their iconic performance at Woodstock, Santana’s self-titled debut album was released. A year later the band’s second album, Abraxas, was issued and contained their recording of Green’s Fleetwood Mac single, “Black Magic Woman.”
Sung by Santana keyboardist Gregg Rolie, the band’s version of “Black Magic Woman” was a hit. Santana put their own stamp on the song by seamlessly pairing the “Black Magic Woman” single with Gábor Szabó’s instrumental “Gypsy Queen.” The medley is among the signature examples of Santana’s influential musical style.
In an interview for the March 2006 issue of Vintage Guitar, Carlos Santana spoke about Green and their shared influences, stating:
“When you hear Clapton at that time, and Peter Green, they both sound like B.B. King, the way he was playing between ’64 and ’67 – like Live At The Regal. That was B.B. supreme. Even B.B. had to go back to it to get to the next level. Otis Rush, Buddy Guy – they all had to go through B.B. at that point. Albert was different, but even Freddie King; he had more raw energy, but it was still B.B. King, to a certain extent. Michael Bloomfield… B.B. King. Peter Green… all B.B. King.
“I found myself thinking, ‘Well, there’s too many guys in this corral.’ Fortunately for me, discovering LSD, mescaline, and peyote, I finally could discover Gabor Szabo and Chico Hamilton. Once I discovered Gabor Szabo, Charles Lloyd, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, Wes Montgomery, the cat was out of the bag. I wasn’t going to be a B.B. King wannabe. Plus, I wasn’t interested in becoming another ‘white blues guitarist.’ I felt, as grand as that title is, it’s one-dimensional. I like multi-dimensional.
“When I discovered Gabor Szabo, I realized something that Jimi wasn’t doing. After a while, Jimi got congas; Miles got congas; Sly got congas; Chicago got congas; the Rolling Stones got congas and timbales. All that came from Gabor Szabo and Olatunji. Santana went a different way. Because in the beginning, it was the Santana Blues Band. Once we got the congas, Marcus Malone and Michael Carabello, and they started turning me on to this Gabor Szabo stuff, I couldn’t listen to the blues like I used to.
“All of a sudden it was more fascinating to use that in this other context, with rhythm. I could tell by the way women, particularly, were attracted. When we played in front of Paul Butterfield or Creedence Clearwater [Revival] or Steppenwolf or The Who, the audience – especially the women – were like, ‘Damn!’ So instead of the relationship between the melody, which is the woman, and the rhythm, which is masculine, suddenly women were really attracted to the rhythm. By the time I got to the melody on ‘Jingo,’ that was it!”
“Next thing I know, Peter Green is hanging around – literally taking flights from his Fleetwood Mac gigs to see our band and travel with us. There was a period of about a month where everywhere we went, Peter Green was hanging out with us. To me, that was a great validation, because I adore Peter Green. I adore Michael Bloomfield. I adore people who aren’t mental people; they’re heart people. Every note comes directly from their heart. It gave me… not arrogance, but confidence that we were doing something.
“Peter Green, I believe, was looking for something different from B.B. King and Elmore James. Because that basically was what they did. Then they saw Santana and the Grateful Dead, and they started doing this Grateful Dead thing, writing more like Jerry Garcia, but also like Santana. But in order to play like that, they had to listen to the records the way I did and really break them down. You can’t just add congas. You’ve got to understand where to put them, and what part to play, what not to play. Otherwise, they sound and feel like stickers on a refrigerator. I never wanted the music to sound like you just stick something on. It has to be part and parcel of your molecular structure. Learn how to integrate, activate, and ignite within your own physical body. Don’t just add stickers and think that you can do it; it won’t work.”
Mick Fleetwood spoke about the relationship between Carlos Santana and Peter Green and the respective bands they founded. Watch Fleetwood discuss the circumstances surrounding their interaction in the late-1960s with AXS earlier this year:
Serendipitously, both Santana and Fleetwood Mac (including Green) were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1998. At the ceremony, Santana and Green combined forces on a collaborative performance of “Black Magic Woman,” revisit it below:
