Black Magic Woman

"Black Magic Woman" is a song written by British musician Peter Green, which first appeared as a single for his band Fleetwood Mac in 1968. Subsequently, the song appeared on the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums English Rose (US) and The Pious Bird of Good Omen (UK), as well as the later Greatest Hits and Vintage Years^[2] compilations.

This article is about the song. For the album, see Black Magic Woman (album). For the 1991 thriller, see Black Magic Woman (film).

"Black Magic Woman"

"The Sun Is Shining"

29 March 1968

February 1968

Blues rock

2:48

Blue Horizon (57-3138)

Peter Green

Mike Vernon^[1]

In 1970, the song was released as the first single from Santana's album Abraxas. The song, as sung by Gregg Rolie, reached number four on the US and Canadian charts, and its chart success made Santana's recording the better-known version of the song.^[3]

The song was also covered by former Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch on his 2006 album His Fleetwood Mac Years and Beyond, Vol. 2. Although Welch was not a member of the group at the time of the original recording, he had performed a number of Peter Green's songs during his time with the band.

Performance[edit]

Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" was released as a single in 1968, and reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.^[3] The song was featured in Fleetwood Mac's live set-lists even after Green had left the band, when it was usually sung by Danny Kirwan. During Fleetwood Mac concerts in the early 1970s, the song would often form the basis for the long-mid concert jams. However, by the 1987's Shake the Cage Tour, performance of "Black Magic Woman" was blocked by John McVie who felt the song too closely linked to Santana.^[8] Stevie Nicks performed the song with slight changes in lyrics in the 2018-2019 tour An Evening with Fleetwood Mac.^[9]

Peter Green played the song with Santana at the 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony where the inductees included both Fleetwood Mac and Santana.^[10]^[11]