Santo and Johnny
Best remembered for their instrumental guitar classic "Sleepwalk," brothers Santo and Johnny Farina were born and raised in Brooklyn. Inspired by the country music he heard on the radio, Santo adopted the steel guitar as a teen, and at age 14 he formed an instrumental trio, soon after writing his first original songs. In time he began teaching his younger sibling Johnny to play standard electric guitar, and they started performing as a duo. Santo & Johnny debuted in 1959 with "Sleepwalk" for the tiny Brooklyn label Trinity Records, a hauntingly atmospheric instrumental they'd composed with the aid of their mother. The single became a major local favorite and was then licensed to the Canadian-American imprint, where it topped the Billboard pop charts in August of that year.
Santo & Johnny soon issued their self-titled debut LP, also notching a hit with their follow-up single "Teardrops"; however, the duo's popularity quickly slid, although they issued five more albums for Canadian-American -- among them 1960's Encore and 1963's Offshore -- before the company dissolved in 1965. Two years later the siblings signed to Imperial to release The Brilliant Guitar Sounds of Santo & Johnny; three other efforts followed before Imperial, too, closed in 1968. More popular internationally than at home, Santo & Johnny continued to record well into the following decade, typically landing on little-known Italian labels; the duo finally disbanded in 1976, with Santo continuing on as a solo act.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
Discography
9 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Movie Music
Originele soundtracks - Released by Canadian American records CAR-195966 on 4 apr. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Want You Near Me
Rock - Released by Vanilla OMP on 23 dec. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Goodnight Irene, Sleepwalk and Other Favourites
Pop - Released by Mach60 Music on 1 jan. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Original Hit Recording: Sleep Walk
Rock - Released by Smith & Co. on 24 aug. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Hawaii Santo & Johnny
Santo and Johnny, Hutch Davie Orchestra And Chorus
Pop - Released by JB Production CH on 26 aug. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo