They are best known for their instrumental "Sleep Walk", which became a regional hit and eventually reached the top of the Billboard pop chart when it was released nationally in 1959.
At present, Santo is semi-retired and Johnny tours and records new material with his own band. Johnny is also the president of Aniraf, Inc., an international record company based in New York.
Santo and Johnny Farina were born in Brooklyn, New York; Santo on October 24, 1937 and Johnny on April 30, 1941. Their father was drafted into the 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 on 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 fourteen, 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 further, and he tried different tunings until he found ones that appealed to him.
When Johnny reached the age of twelve, 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 which they circulated to local New York record companies.
In 1958, Mike Dee & The Mello Tones (Santo Farina, steel guitar; Johnny Farina, guitar and their uncle Mike Dee, drums) recorded a self-penned instrumental which they called "Deep Sleep". Loosely inspired by the song "Softly, As In The Morning Sunrise" (Sigmund Romberg, 1929), it had the same chord progression but a simpler melody line.
"Deep Sleep" became "Sleep Walk" and in September 1959 it topped the American charts.
The brothers eventually came to the attention of a music publishing company and signed a song writer's contract and eventually a contract with Canadian-American Records. Their first release, "Sleep Walk", was composed by the two brothers. (The original single credits three Farinas, including an "A. Farina" for the composition. It's sometimes reported that their mother or sister helped, but this is apparently false.) It was recorded at Trinity Records in Manhattan. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's 'Top 40' on August 17, 1959. It rose to the No. 1 position for two weeks in September (the 21st and the 28th) and remained in the 'Top 40' list until November 9. It was the last instrumental to hit #1 in the 1950s and earned Santo & Johnny a gold record. The follow-up song "Tear Drop" was also a hit, though their LP Santo & Johnny was less successful in the United States.
After touring Europe, Mexico, and Australia, Santo & Johnny signed to an Italian record label and had several hits in Europe that included "Sleep Walk", "Love Story", "Maria Elena", "Ebb Tide", "Love is Blue", "Enchanted Sea", and others.[citation needed] In 1964, they released an album of The Beatles covers; "And I Love Her" hit #1 in Mexico and held the spot for 21 weeks. In 1973, Santo & Johnny recorded the theme to the movie The Godfather, which went to #1 in Italy and stayed at that spot for 21 weeks. They received a gold record in Italy and were inducted into the Italian Music Hall of Fame.
Johnny Farina currently operates the official Santo And Johnny worldwide website, which includes current tour dates, discography, biography, trivia and new merchandise Farina also currently operates the official Johnny MySpace page, which includes current tour dates, discography, biography, and audio samples from his new solo albums.
"Sleep Walk" continues to be popular due to consistent radio airplay as well as its usage in commercials, television shows, and movies. One of the first covers was by Betsy Brye (stage name of Bette Anne Steele) in 1959. While Santo & Johnny wrote lyrics for "Sleep Walk", they never recorded a lyrical version, but Betsy Brye's version included these lyrics. It has been also covered by The Shadows, Stray Cats, The Ventures, Jake Shimabukuro, Amos Garrett, Kenny Vance and the Planotones, Larry Carlton, Deftones, Chet Atkins, Danny Gatton, Leo Kottke, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Jonathan Richman, Larry Berwald, and Joe Satriani. Indie group Modest Mouse also covered the song with lyrics and entitled their version "Sleepwalkin'". A version by Brian Setzer received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1998. "Sleep Walk" was used throughout the 1992 Stephen King film, Sleepwalkers. "Sleep Walk" also plays a role in the 1995 Terry Gilliam sci-fi film, 12 Monkeys. It is also played in the end scene of "La Bamba" after protagonist Ritchie Valens dies. The song can also be heard in "Eddie and the Cruisers" as well as in the film "Hearts in Atlantis" starring Anthony Hopkins. Tim Kring's 'Heroes' which aired on NBC also featured "Sleep Walk" playing on a record in a diner, from the episode '1961'.
Santo & Johnny were inducted into The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2002.
All Night Diner
Santo & Johnny Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be fine I don't need no sleep tonight
Everything will be alright
This is how I live my life let's go
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
And I'm staying' up all night aye
I'll be fine, I don't need no sleep tonight
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
Stayin' up until sunrise aye
I'll be fine I don't need no sleep tonight
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright aye
Okay I'm up all night, I'm just thinking' out the box
They was hating' on me and I told em kick rocks
Man I'm spendin' spendin' investing in Apple stocks
Man I'm finna take flight like MJ I got hops
Man I'm ballin' every season I be going nonstop
I'm not tryna live a basic life, behind a desktop
Ima be workin remote
On my fuckin' laptop
Man I started from the bottom now I'm on the rooftop
Boy I started from the bottom now I'm doing big things
Put your mind to it you can do anything
Hard work pays off so I'm grinding' heavily
I'm thinking' ahead, I'm setting goals every week
Yeah I'm always staying strong, don't fold I'm not weak
Life is good now but this is not the peak
Yeah keep consistency yeah come up out the Springs
Regardless of what they think, I'm going do me yeah
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
And I'm staying' up all night aye
I'll be fine, I don't need no sleep tonight
Everything will be alright this is how I live my life yeah
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
Stayin' up until sunrise aye
I'll be fine I don't need no sleep tonight
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright aye
Okay I wake up in the morning mind on a mili
Dawg I came a long way, and now I'm still on my feet
No I don't need the beef I'm just keeping' the peace
Okay I don't need the streets, I make my money clean, okay
I want my niece the top floor of the sweet
I don't want a piece I want the whole damn thing
No matter what they say Ima do my thing
Ima keep on movin' movin' and enjoy the journey
Yeah the money be calling' my name up in my sleep
And I get up cuz I can't miss the opportunity
Yeah I get up my dawg because it's my time to eat
And not a little snack I'm talking' a straight feast
Eating every day like it's Thanksgiving okay
I count it up count it up count, all the blessings
And I be so grateful for all of the little things
Because you never know, you lose your life in a blink aye
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
And I'm staying' up all night aye
I'll be fine, I don't need no sleep tonight
Everything will be alright this is how I live my life yeah
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
Stayin' up until sunrise aye
I'll be fine I don't need no sleep tonight
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright aye
The lyrics to Santo & Johnny's song All Night Diner convey the message of staying up all night to work hard and achieve success. The singer is determined to live his life to the fullest and doesn't want to waste any time sleeping. The use of the phrase "bags under my eyes" represents the singer's tiredness, but his desire to keep going and achieve his dreams is stronger. The lyrics also highlight the importance of hard work and dedication in achieving success, as emphasized by the line "hard work pays off, so I'm grinding heavily."
The reference to Gucci bags and investing in Apple stocks demonstrates the singer's desire for financial success and stability. Moreover, the lyrics portray the idea that success can be achieved through remote work on a laptop, which is quite relevant in today's digital age. The song ends on a positive note reminding the listener that everything will be alright, and they can reach their goals if they work hard and persevere.
Line by Line Meaning
Ima stay up all damn night, Ima do it get it right aye
I'm going to stay awake all night and make sure I do everything right
I'll be fine I don't need no sleep tonight
I don't need to sleep tonight, I'll be okay
Everything will be alright
Everything is going to be okay
This is how I live my life let's go
This is my lifestyle, let's get started
Up all night I got bags under my eyes
I stayed up all night and now I have bags under my eyes
Gucci bag up in my ride
I have my Gucci bag with me in the car
Stayin' up until sunrise aye
I'm going to stay up until the sun rises
Okay I'm up all night, I'm just thinking' out the box
I'm up all night thinking outside of the box
They was hating' on me and I told em kick rocks
People were hating on me, but I told them to go away
Man I'm spendin' spendin' investing in Apple stocks
I'm investing a lot of money in Apple stocks
Man I'm finna take flight like MJ I got hops
I'm going to take flight like Michael Jordan because I have skill
Man I'm ballin' every season I be going nonstop
I'm doing great all the time, I never stop moving forward
I'm not tryna live a basic life, behind a desktop
I'm not trying to live a basic life working at a desk
Ima be workin remote
I'm going to work remotely
On my fuckin' laptop
On my laptop
Man I started from the bottom now I'm on the rooftop
I started with nothing and now I'm at the top
Boy I started from the bottom now I'm doing big things
I started with nothing and now I'm doing great things
Put your mind to it you can do anything
If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything
Hard work pays off so I'm grinding' heavily
Hard work pays off, so I'm working hard
I'm thinking' ahead, I'm setting goals every week
I'm planning ahead and setting goals each week
Yeah I'm always staying strong, don't fold I'm not weak
I always stay strong and never give up, I'm not weak
Life is good now but this is not the peak
My life is good now, but there's still more to achieve
Yeah keep consistency yeah come up out the Springs
I'm going to stay consistent and come out successful
Regardless of what they think, I'm going do me yeah
Despite what others think, I'm going to be myself
Okay I wake up in the morning mind on a mili
When I wake up in the morning, I'm focused on making money
Dawg I came a long way, and now I'm still on my feet
I've come a long way and I'm still standing
No I don't need the beef I'm just keeping' the peace
I don't want drama, I just want to keep the peace
Okay I don't need the streets, I make my money clean, okay
I don't need to do illegal things to make money, I make it clean
I want my niece the top floor of the sweet
I want the best for my niece, like the top floor of a hotel
I don't want a piece I want the whole damn thing
I don't just want a little bit, I want it all
No matter what they say Ima do my thing
Despite what others say, I'm going to do what I want
Ima keep on movin' movin' and enjoy the journey
I'm going to keep moving forward and enjoy the process
Yeah the money be calling' my name up in my sleep
I'm always thinking about making money
And I get up cuz I can't miss the opportunity
I get up because I don't want to miss any opportunities
And not a little snack I'm talking' a straight feast
I'm not just looking for a little bit, I want a lot
Eating every day like it's Thanksgiving okay
I want to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment
I count it up count it up count, all the blessings
I count all my blessings and appreciate what I have
And I be so grateful for all of the little things
I'm grateful for all the small things in life
Because you never know, you lose your life in a blink aye
You never know when life will end, so appreciate it while you can
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Isaac Santos, Trey Fine
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind