Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll instrumental duo of Italian descentCsida, J. (1980). The Music/Record Career Handbook. New York: Billboard Publications. from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born October 24, 1937) and Johnny Farina (born April 30, 1941).
They are known best for their instrumental melody "Sleep Walk", one of the biggest hits of the golden age of rock 'n' roll, which became a regional success and eventually scored the top of the Billboard pop chart when it was released nationally during 1959.
Career Early life Santo Anthony Farina and John Steven Farina were born in Brooklyn, New York, to Anthony and Josephine Farina: Santo on October 24, 1937, and Johnny on April 30, 1941. Their father was drafted into the United States Army while they were children and was stationed for some time in Oklahoma. After hearing a steel guitar on the radio, he wrote to his wife, "I'd like the boys to learn to play this instrument".
Upon returning from World War II, the boys' father found a music teacher who gave the boys steel guitar lessons. When Santo was a teenager, he was able to get a local music store to modify an acoustic guitar, allowing him to play it like a steel guitar.
Within two years, Santo was performing in amateur shows using a new Gibson six-string steel guitar and had started receiving lessons from a steel guitar teacher who had studied in Hawaii. By the age of 14, Santo was composing songs, and formed an instrumental trio with a guitarist and drummer. This trio appeared at local dances and parties, performing both original compositions and some Hawaiian standards. With money Santo made from these performances, he bought a Fender steel guitar, one with three necks, each with eight strings. This allowed him to experiment even more, and he tried different tunings until he found ones that appealed to him.
When Johnny reached the age of 12, he began to play accompaniment to Santo on a standard electric guitar. The brothers soon formed a duo and became rather popular in school, eventually performing at events in the New York boroughs. They recorded a demo that they circulated to local New York record companies.
When Johnny turned 16, he told their father that they would be quitting school to pursue a career as "rock stars", to which their father responded "The only stars are in the sky."
The brothers wrote a song one night when they "couldn't sleep after playing a gig, and started jamming." The song was "Sleep Walk" and during September 1959 it scored at the top of the American charts.
Music career The brothers eventually came to the attention of a music publishing company and signed a songwriter's contract and eventually landed a recording contract with Canadian-American Records. Their first release, "Sleep Walk", was credited as being composed by the two brothers plus Santo's wife, Ann, although Johnny later said that her name was put on by mistake.Old music: Santo & Johnny – Sleep Walk Jon Dennis, The Guardian, January 18, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2017
"Sleep Walk" was recorded at Trinity Records in Manhattan. It reached Billboard magazine's No. 1 position for two weeks during September 1959, and earned a Gold record for Santo & Johnny. The follow-up single "Tear Drop" (spelled "Teardrop" on the album Encore) was also successful, though their long-playing record Santo & Johnny was less successful in the United States.
Legacy "Sleep Walk" continues to be popular owing to consistent radio airplay as well as its usage for commercials, television programs, and movies. Santo & Johnny were inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2002.
The duo broke up in 1976. After this split, Johnny continued to perform as a solo artist, and is still touring as of 2021. By contrast, Santo retired from the music industry in the 1970s, for reasons he did not disclose.
Discography Albums Canadian-American Records Ltd Santo & Johnny (1959) Encore (1960) Hawaii (1961) Come On In (1962) Around the World... with Santo & Johnny (1962) Off Shore (1963) In the Still of the Night (1964) Santo & Johnny Wish You Love (1964) The Beatles Greatest Hits Played by Santo & Johnny (1964) Mucho (1965) Santo y Johnny en México (1965?) Love Is Blue (1968) Hush (1970) Guide To Love (1971) Europa (1977)
Imperial The Brilliant Guitar Sounds of Santo & Johnny (1967) Golden Guitars (1968) On the Road Again (1968) The Best That Could Happen (1969)
Black Tulip The Original Recordings
Dischi Ricordi Music For Your Dreams (1982)
Aniraf Record Co. Christmas Mine – Johnny Farina (2012) Pure Steel (2007) Johnny Farina Christmas Mine (2008) Johnny Farina Italian Being Served (2009) Johnny Farina Christmas Mine – Johnny Farina (reissued 2012)
PAUSA (aka: Pause) Records Santo & Johnny (1976)
Singles Year"A" Side"B" SideUSUKAULabel1959"Sleep Walk""All Night Diner"12210Canadian-American 1031959"Tear Drop""The Long Walk Home"235028Canadian-American 1071960"Caravan""Summertime"48—22Canadian-American 1111960"Sea Shells""Hop Scotch"90——Canadian-American 1141960"The Breeze and I""Lazy Day"109——Canadian-American 1151960"Annie""Lost Love"———Canadian-American 1181960"Twistin' Bells""Bullseye!"49—42Canadian-American 1201961"Theme from Come September""The Long Walk Home"———Canadian-American 1281961"Birmingham""The Mouse"———Canadian-American 1311962"Stage to Cimarron""Spanish Harlem"101——Canadian-American 1371962"Three Cabelleros""Step Aside"———Canadian American 1411962"Tokyo Twilight""Miserlou"———Canadian-American 1441963"On Your Mark""Manhattan"———Canadian-American 1511963"The Wandering Sea""Manhattan Spiritual"———Canadian-American 1551963"Love Letters In The Sand""Lido Beach"———Canadian American 1611964"In The Still of the Night""Song For Rosemary"———Canadian-American 1641964"A Thousand Miles Away""Road Block"122——Canadian-American 1671964"Sugar Stroll""Rattler"———Canadian-American 1741964"A Hard Day's Night""And I Love Her"———Canadian-American 1771964"A Hard Day's Night""The Beatle Stomp"———Canadian-American 1771964"Goldfinger""Sleepwalk"———Canadian-American 1821965"Mucho Tempo""Brazilian Summer"———Canadian-American 1891965"Off Shore" (One sided record)———Canadian-American 1901965"Watermelon Man""Return To Naples"———Canadian-American 1941965"The Young World""Come With Me"———Canadian-American 2041965"Thunderball""Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"———United Artists UA9701967"Live for Life""See You in September"———Imperial 662691968"Sleepwalk 68""It Must Be Him"———Imperial 662921969"Isadora""Street Of Dark Flowers"———Canadian American 70421973"Piedone Lo Sbirro (Flat Feet)""Moon Dog"———Produttori Associati/Canadian-American 7054
References
External links
Johnny Farina Official Website, Official Album Discography . Retrieved on 2008-04-04. David Edwards and Mike Callahan, Canadian-American Album Discography. Retrieved on 2007-09-01. Santo and Johnny at the Space Age Pop Music Page. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.