Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll instrumental duo of Italian descent 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.
The brothers wrote a song one night when they "couldn't sleep after playing a gig, and started jamming." although Johnny later said that her name was put on by mistake.
"Sleep Walk" was recorded at Trinity Records in Manhattan. It reached Billboard magazine's No. 1 position for two weeks during September 1959, 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
{|class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!Year
!"A" Side
!"B" Side
!US
!UK
!AU
!Label
|-
|align="center"|1959
|"Sleep Walk"
|"All Night Diner"
|1
|22
|10
|align="center"|Canadian-American 103
|-
|align="center"|1959
|"Tear Drop"
|"The Long Walk Home"
|23
|50
|28
|align="center"|Canadian-American 107
|-
|align="center"|1960
|"Caravan"
|"Summertime"
|48
|—
|22
|align="center"|Canadian-American 111
|-
|align="center"|1960
|"Sea Shells"
|"Hop Scotch"
|90
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 114
|-
|align="center"|1960
|"The Breeze and I"
|"Lazy Day"
|109
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 115
|-
|align="center"|1960
|"Annie"
|"Lost Love"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 118
|-
|align="center"|1960
|"Twistin' Bells"
|"Bullseye!"
|49
|—
|42
|align="center"|Canadian-American 120
|-
|align="center"|1961
|"Theme from Come September"
|"The Long Walk Home"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 128
|-
|align="center"|1961
|"Birmingham"
|"The Mouse"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 131
|-
|align="center"|1962
|"Stage to Cimarron"
|"Spanish Harlem"
|101
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 137
|-
|align="center"|1962
|"Three Cabelleros"
|"Step Aside"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian American 141
|-
|align="center"|1962
|"Tokyo Twilight"
|"Miserlou"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 144
|-
|align="center"|1963
|"On Your Mark"
|"Manhattan"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 151
|-
|align="center"|1963
|"The Wandering Sea"
|"Manhattan Spiritual"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 155
|-
|align="center"|1963
|"Love Letters In The Sand"
|"Lido Beach"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian American 161
|-
|align="center"|1964
|"In The Still of the Night"
|"Song For Rosemary"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 164
|-
|align="center"|1964
|"A Thousand Miles Away"
|"Road Block"
|122
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 167
|-
|align="center"|1964
|"Sugar Stroll"
|"Rattler"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 174
|-
|align="center"|1964
|"A Hard Day's Night"
|"And I Love Her"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 177
|-
|align="center"|1964
|"A Hard Day's Night"
|"The Beatle Stomp"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 177
|-
|align="center"|1964
|"Goldfinger"
|"Sleepwalk"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 182
|-
|align="center"|1965
|"Mucho Tempo"
|"Brazilian Summer"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 189
|-
|align="center"|1965
|"Off Shore"
| (One sided record)
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 190
|-
|align="center"|1965
|"Watermelon Man"
|"Return To Naples"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 194
|-
|align="center"|1965
|"The Young World"
|"Come With Me"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Canadian-American 204
|-
|align="center"|1965
|"Thunderball"
|"Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|United Artists UA970
|-
|align="center"|1967
|"Live for Life"
|"See You in September"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Imperial 66269
|-
|align="center"|1968
|"Sleepwalk 68"
|"It Must Be Him"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|Imperial 66292
|-
|align="center"|1973
|"Piedone Lo Sbirro (Flat Feet)"
|"Moon Dog"
|—
|—
|—
|align="center"|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.