Carlos Santana Releases “Joy” with Chris Stapleton

Carlos Santana has released the fourth single “Joy,” a collaboration with Chris Stapleton, who also produced the track, off his upcoming new album, Blessings and Miracles, (BMG), out Oct. 15. 

Named after one of Carlos Santana favorite words, “Joy” is a bluesier reggae-rock track building around a communal chorus of the word with Santana’s guitar impeccably poking around a call for more love and unity in All I was afraid of / Bringing me down / All the walls around love / Falling to the ground… And I keep on pushing / Through the good and the bad / And I believe / Because I have joy.

“I was very intrigued to work with Chris,” says Santana. “We talked on the phone about the Covid situation and how there’s so much fear in the world, and I said, ‘We need to create music as a healing force. We must bring hope and courage and disinfect twisted minds infected with darkness.’”

Santana adds, “That gave him the ammunition to write such incredible words. Somewhere I said, ‘flying on the wings of angels,’ so it’s a collaboration. And what an incredible song it is. The choir in it, it’s like the Staple Singers.”

A star-studded album from start to finish, Blessings and Miracles features a collection of collaborations across genres, including the late Chick Corea, whose wife Gayle Moran Corea offers vocals on the album, Rick Rubin, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Ally Brooke, Corey Glover, and Narada Michael Walden, in addition to Santana’s longtime touring band, including singer Tommy Anthony, bassist Benny Rietveld, percussionist Karl Perazzo, drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, and keyboardist David K. Matthews, as well vocals and keyboards by Santana’s son Salvador and lead vocals by his daughter Stella.

In addition to “Joy,” Santana recently released the first Blessings and Miracles single “Move,” featuring Rob Thomas and American Authors, his rendition of the 1967 Procol Harum single “Whiter Shade of Pale” with Steve Winwood, and “She’s Fire, with Diane Warren.

“The title of this album comes from my belief that we’re born with heavenly powers that allow us to create blessings and miracles,” says Santana. “The world programs you to be unworthy of those gifts, but we have to utilize light, spirit, and soul – they’re indestructible and immutable. Those are the three main elements on this album.”