Santana at Philadelphia Spectrum, 1970

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A rare cardboard poster promoting San Francisco-based Santana and It’s a Beautiful Day (“White Bird”) as well as blues legend Muddy Waters. Typically the press run for a piece like this has a press run of 500 or less and this one has the iconic Santana lion image signed by creator Lee Conklin.

Note that Conklin did not create the poster itself - just all of the graphic elements - and this is why he signed below the lion. Interestingly, the first use of this image was in a 1968 poster Conklin did for the Grateful Dead, with Santana billed thrid - they had yet to put out an album. Santane loved the image of the Lion so much they asked Cnklin if he could adspt it for their first album cover - and that is where the image is generally known from

It was a long time ago but Santana truly burst onto the rock scene in 1969 and were at the top of their game with their original lineup for this show at the Spectrum. Each of their first three albums went into the top 4:  Santana (1969 - went to #4)), Abraxas (1970 - #1 album), and Santana III (1971 - #1 album)

In 1969 and to promote their debut album, Bill Graham, who was asked to help organize the upcoming Woodstock festival, agreed to help bring in the San Francisco bands on the condition that Santana would be added to the bill. Santana performed a 45-minute set in the afternoon of August 16, the second day. The performance launched the group to international fame.

This concert was part of a short North American tour following a Royal Albert Hall performance in England on April 18. The tour ran from April 24, 1970 at the Memorial Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania through June 13, 1970 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. A typical set list from this tour was as follows:

"Se Acabó"

"Black Magic Woman"

"Gypsy Queen"

"Savor"

"Jin-go-lo-ba"

"Oye Como Va"

"Toussaint L'Overture"

"Evil Ways"

"Treat"

"Gumbo"

"Waiting"

"Hope You're Feeling Better"

"Conquistadore Rides Again"