THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

158-Santana-She’s Not There

1977-Number 11 single.

Best Bit-At 2.39. I am a believer in that the first version you hear of a song will very likely turn out to be your preferred version. Had I heard the original version by the Zombies first, would that have been my preferred version? I honestly am not sure.

‘She’s Not There’ was written by Rod Argent of the British Rock group the Zombies, (see also best songs 407) and released as their debut single in 1964, reaching Number 12 in the UK, and Number 2 on Billboard in America. Argent had taken a liking to the song title ‘No One Told Me,’ which was a 1964 song recorded by John Lee Hooker, and he decided to write lyrics incorporating those words, although it must be pointed out that nothing else from the Hooker song is part of ‘She’s Not There.’

The Rock band Santana were formed by by Carlos Santana, in San Francisco, California, United States, in 1966, they remain active with a total of 73 different members coming and going over the years, with only Carlos Santana being the groups one constant. Carlos Santana was born Carlos Augusto Santana Alves on July 20th, 1947, in Autlan, Jalisca, Mexico, he is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time, regularly appearing in best of lists. Over the course of Santana’s 26 studio Albums released between 1969-2021 they have recorded in many different genres including ‘Latin Rock,’ Psychedelic Rock,’ and ‘Jazz Fusion.’ They have also issued 61 singles in the same time period, with 15 of those tracks making the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, including two of those songs reaching Number 1. While in the UK they have charted on five occasions, with ‘Smooth’ from 1999 charting the highest at Number 3. Santana have currently sold in excess of 100 million records world wide.

Santana recorded ‘She’s Not There’ for their ninth Album ‘Moonflower’ released in October 1977, it is a double Album with studio recordings, and live recordings interspersed throughout. ‘She’s Not There’ is the opening track on side 3 of the Album, and features the vocals of Greg Walker, who was a member of Santana sporadically between 1975-1985. The other artists to appear on the track were Carlos Santana, (guitar) Tom Coster, (keyboards) David Margen, (bass) Graham Lear, (drums) and Pete Escovedo, (percussion) incidentally Escovedo is the father of the drummer and singer Sheila E.

‘Well, no one told me about her, the way she lied. Well, no one told me about her, how many people cried, but it’s too late to say you’re sorry, how would I know, why should I care? Please don’t bother tryin’ to find her, she’s not there.’