Carlos Santana strumming in Guitar Hero 5

  • By philonious_matt, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 20, 2009 4:52 pm PT

In April 2008, Carlos Santana sounded like he didn't want anything to do with Guitar Hero. Speaking with the Orlando Sentinel, the famed guitarist said, "If you're going to spend that much time and energy, get yourself a real guitar… I'm not into virtual anything, if it's not the real thing,...

In April 2008, Carlos Santana sounded like he didn't want anything to do with Guitar Hero. Speaking with the Orlando Sentinel, the famed guitarist said, "If you're going to spend that much time and energy, get yourself a real guitar… I'm not into virtual anything, if it's not the real thing, man."

It seems he had a change of heart, however, as the famed guitarist will now appear as a playable character in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5, with a live recording of his acclaimed song "No One to Depend On." Activision also announced today that Santana will only be one several new playable musicians in this installment of the $2 billion-grossing rhythm-based series.

"His accomplished career and breadth of musical style are a great illustration of the variety of rock experiences we have included in the game, and we are excited to announce him as the first of five playable in-game artists," said vice president of music affairs for Guitar Hero Tim Riley, conveniently overlooking Santana's earlier comments.

For a man who has produced over 40 albums and won 11 Grammy Awards, Santana rarely shows up the Guitar Hero series' set list. Currently, he has one song in the series, a cover of "Black Magic Woman" in Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: On Tour.

Earlier this month, Activision partially revealed the set list for Guitar Hero 5, which will include such artists as The White Stripes, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Kings of Leon, and Vampire Weekend. It ships September 1 in the US and will be available on the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Guitar Hero 5.

23 Comments

  • N_The_Elite

    Posted Aug 17, 2009 2:18 pm PT

    I'm sure Carlos Santana didn't change his mind about virtual anything, he just knows it's an easy way to CHA-CHING a few million dollars.

    And yeah, Watchtower should be Jimi Hendrix's version.

  • debweb

    Posted Jul 24, 2009 8:03 am PT

    Still no guitar strap?

  • sco14

    Posted Jul 22, 2009 12:21 pm PT

    i completely agree with nickythenewt21 all along the watchtower should be the hendrix version

  • Glade_Gnarr

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 5:56 pm PT

    He says his not into virtual anything but I bet he's really into virtual flying, if you know what I mean.

  • Elvis4576

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 4:41 pm PT

    playable bob dylan and freddie mercury would be bad ass

  • -HaloHitman-

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 11:32 am PT

    Santana!!!

  • lathan94

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 9:13 am PT

    Rock Band and Guitar hero lost my interest a long time ago.

  • Legendkillerh2

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 9:01 am PT

    FalcoLX, it saddens me because most of these fools haven't heard about it...

  • cutmaclass1

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 8:01 am PT

    No exportability, no deal. Activision continues to trick the masses into thinking they actually care about the music.

  • NuKkU

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 7:26 am PT

    awesome man

  • thesarcasmguru

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 6:47 am PT

    Derek Trucks better be playable. He is probably the most amazing living guitarist. I heard he was in it.

  • FalcoLX

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 4:27 am PT

    @Legendkillerh2
    That's my joint!

  • sun_rider95

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 3:19 am PT

    santana rocks

  • Halcalix

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 3:17 am PT

    Reall! Oh Cooooll!

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 2:31 am PT

    oh christ; anyone else notice they love to write about Guitar Hero or Rockband whenever they can't think of anything better to write about? this probably won't be the last article either, we'll probably see like 2 GH and/or RB articles a day now for quite a while

  • GC4ever

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 2:25 am PT

    sweet
    santana is the man

  • lukas1051

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 2:05 am PT

    I've always liked Santana, so this will be a positive for me. I think this would also be a great guitar battle. Now if GH can get Matt Bellamy (who is rumoured to be in it), I'm sold.

  • azureblade89

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 12:18 am PT

    Who cares...

  • Legendkillerh2

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 10:50 pm PT

    Time to crack open some Santana DVX and enjoy some GH...

  • MajorBrian

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 6:20 pm PT

    This is going to be the first guitar hero game that I do not get right away. I like the idea of being able to play as Santana.

  • Strike_Zer0

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 5:25 pm PT

    Oh cool. I've never been too into playing as "real people" in GH games but it's still a fun touch. Good to see another of his songs showing up too.

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 5:24 pm PT

    I still think that Bob Dylan in Guitar Hero is weird...Dylan wasn't a musician. He was a poet who put his poems to music (btw, I love Bob Dylan).

    Besides, if you're gonna put in All Along the Watchtower in Guitar Hero, at least do the Hendrix version.

  • nick300

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 5:11 pm PT

    i am so Pre-ordering this game as soon as possible.

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