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.
Brazil
Santo & Johnny Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where hearts were entertaining June
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured someday soon
We kissed and clung together
Then, tomorrow was another day
The morning found me miles away
With still a million things to say
Recalling thrills of our love
There's one thing I'm certain of
Return I will to old
Brazil the Brazil that I knew
where I wandered with you
Lives in my imagination
Where the songs are passionate
And a smile has flash in it
And a kiss has art in it
For you put your heart in it
And so I dream of old Brazil
Brazil
Where hearts were entertaining June
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured someday soon
We kissed and clung together
Then, tomorrow was another day
The morning found me miles away
With still a million things to say
Oh now, when twilight dims the sky above
Recalling thrills of our love
There's one thing I'm certain of
Return I will to old Brazil
The song "Brazil" by Santo & Johnny is a romantic ballad that reminisces about a beautiful time spent in Brazil. The lyrics describe a moment in June when hearts were entertaining, and the two lovers share a special moment under an amber moon. The singer recalls kissing and clinging together, and softly murmuring about their future together.
As the song progresses, the lyrics shift to a reflection on the present day, where the singer is now miles away from Brazil. However, the memories of their time in Brazil still remain vividly in the singer's mind. The singer dreams of returning to "old Brazil" where the songs are passionate, and the smiles and kisses are full of art.
Line by Line Meaning
Brazil
The country of Brazil, a place where the singer has experienced romance and love.
Where hearts were entertaining June
During the month of June, people's hearts were full of excitement, joy, and love.
We stood beneath an amber moon
The two lovers stood together under a moonlit sky that had a warm, golden hue.
And softly murmured someday soon
The lovers whispered to each other about their future plans and desires for their relationship together.
We kissed and clung together
They shared a passionate kiss and held onto each other tightly, expressing their love.
Then, tomorrow was another day
Despite the love they shared in that moment, they knew that tomorrow was a new day with its own challenges and opportunities.
The morning found me miles away
The singer woke up the next morning far away from the person they loved, perhaps realizing the distance between them.
With still a million things to say
Even though they were apart, there were still so many things the singer wanted to express to their lover.
Now, when twilight dims the sky above
Nowadays, when the sky starts to darken during the evening, the singer thinks back to their romantic experiences in Brazil.
Recalling thrills of our love
The singer remembers the excitement and passion they felt during their time in Brazil with their lover.
There's one thing I'm certain of
Of all the things the singer remembers about their time in Brazil, there is one thing they are sure of.
Return I will to old Brazil
The singer has a strong desire to return to Brazil, the place where they experienced so much love and passion.
The Brazil that I knew
The Brazil that the singer is referring to is the place that was filled with love and happiness during their time there.
Where I wandered with you
The singer remembers wandering around Brazil with their lover, exploring and enjoying everything the country had to offer.
Lives in my imagination
Even though the singer is no longer in Brazil, the memories they have of their time there still live on in their imagination.
Where the songs are passionate
Music in Brazil is known for being filled with passion and emotion, which is something the singer associates with their experiences in the country.
And a smile has flash in it
The singer remembers people in Brazil having big, bright smiles that conveyed a sense of happiness and joy.
And a kiss has art in it
Kissing in Brazil is seen as a form of art, something that is done with passion and finesse, which the singer appreciates.
For you put your heart in it
The singer's lover expressed their love with such passion and sincerity that they put their whole heart into everything they did together.
And so I dream of old Brazil
The singer dreams of going back to the Brazil they remember, where they experienced so much love and passion with their lover.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ary Barroso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind