Number 606 - Santo & Johnny

.

Number 606

Santo & Johnny

"Sleep Walk"

(1959)
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Genre:Pop

Something about this tune that haunts me and i have no idea why. Maybe it was off the soundtrack Christine by Stephen King or something of that ilk, say like the Twin Peaks theme. But what a tune, i see why it was a Number 1 hit in 1959. Also the original version was never recorded in any form of stereo, only mono. There is a lovely character on YouTube who has been charting the "Billboard Number 1 songs since 1955" his name is Keonepax and his video's are called "Oldies but goodies - a time sweep of number 1 hits". His "style" of video is a cool concept, charting a particular year with all the samples of the number one hits. So if your a fan of the classics i highly recommend this site, by the way he has charted a phenomenal 27 years of Number 1 hits! I also reminded him that he had another 30 years of music to go, he never replied to that thought lol.

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. For the tiny Brooklyn label Trinity Records, Santo and Johnny debuted in 1959 with "Sleepwalk," 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 and 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 and Johnny; three other efforts followed before Imperial, too, closed in 1968. More popular internationally than at home, Santo and 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

Side Notes:Santo and Johnny had quite a reputation worldwide.

The duo was more popular internationally than they were in the United States.

They continued to record, mostly for Italian labels, issuing albums filled with James Bond movie themes, Hawaiian songs, old standards, country music, light classics, and rock and roll hits.
In 1973, they recorded "The Godfather" movie theme. It held the #1 position for 26 weeks in Italy.

They received an Italian Gold Record for it and were inducted into the Hall of Fame in Italy.

By this time, they had recorded and released over forty albums worldwide.

They had worked fourteen years (1959-74) appearing on their own TV show in Italy as well as playing clubs and casinos all over Europe.
In 1976, the duo disbanded.
In 1999, "Sleepwalk" earned BMI’s Millionaires Award, which symbolizes two million airplays on the radio.

A version of 'Sleepwalk' by the Brian Setzer Orchestra earned the song a Grammy for best instrumental in 1999.

In 2002, Santo & Johnny were honored by being inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame.
Because of constant radio airplay, along with numerous TV show, movie & commercial inclusions, "Sleepwalk" continues to be one of the most popular & quickly recognized instrumentals of the 20th century.
Johnny Farina continues to perform this hit and many other recognizable standards in his shows and continues to make appearances all over the country. His appearances have included venues such as the Paramount Theater in New York City, the Meadowlands in New Jersey, Madison Square Garden in New York City and Harrah's in Las Vegas.
Santo Farina continued as a solo act for a period (after 1976) but has since retired from active performing.
"Sleepwalk" was sampled in 2006 by Blankito for Xzit's song "PGC & Fee Wee"

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Before ya yell....) and the Album ranked at Number (It was before our time:p)

so?

This song has a crowbarred rating of 72 out of 108 pts

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Tags:Santo & Johnny, 1959, Guitar, Keonepax, Stephen King, Music, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time, Mellow Mix Volume 1

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