Carlos Santana has been reunited with a former band-mate who has lived homeless for almost 40-years.
Marcus “The Magnificent” Malone was one of the founding members of Santana’s first ever band – The Carlos Santana Blues Band. Santana’s experience with the band paved the way for his phenomenal success in later years, which includes 10 Grammys, more than 100 million records sold, and a permanent place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Malone was the band’s percussionist when it was founded in 1966 and he played a key role in forging the band’s sound. He even offered his mother’s garage as a rehearsal space for the band when they were just starting out. However, in 1968 Malone had to leave the group as a result of his growing drug problem, and shortly afterwards he was sent to San Quentin Prison for three years. Sadly, after being released he could not find a steady job and soon found himself homeless, forced to beg and forage on the streets just to survive.
However, that all changed earlier this month when Malone happened to appear on a news segment about illegal dumping on Oakland, CA news station KRON4. Santana saw his former band-mate, unkempt and homeless, rummaging through piles of illegally dumped garbage on the news. After seeing the report, he made many trips to Oakland trying to find his former percussionist, but he came up empty every time.
So he enlisted the help of Stanley Roberts at KRON4, who was able to set up this heartwarming re-union.
A shell-shocked Malone was taken to a black pick-up truck where the was reunited with his long-lost band-mate. “You don’t know hard I prayed to get to see you,” Malone told Santana, who warmly replied “Marcus ‘The Magnificent’ Malone” and embraced him.
“It’s an honor to be in your presence. I always cherish you, man. You and your family were so gracious to us,” Santana told Malone, before going on to say Malone’s “spirit is indomitable.”
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