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.
Misty
Santo & Johnny Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree
And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud
I can't understand
I get misty just holding your hand
Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play
That music I hear
I get misty the moment you're near
You can say that you're leading me on
But it's just what I want you to do
Don't you notice how hopelessly I'm lost
That's why I'm following you
On my own
Would I wander through this wonderland alone
Never knowing my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove
I'm too misty, and too much in love
On my own
Would I wander through this wonderland alone
Never knowing my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove
I'm too misty, and too much in love
Look at me
The lyrics of Santo & Johnny's song Misty describe the singer's overwhelming feelings of love and desire for someone, the mere presence of whom has the power to conjure up a dreamy, hazy state of mind, leaving him lost and helpless. The first verse highlights this sense of vulnerability through a simile, comparing the singer's state of mind to a kitten trapped atop a tree. He goes on to say that he senses as though he's been transported into a world of clouds, alluding to the surreal, otherworldly quality of his feelings.
The second verse continues in a similar vein, with the singer being so affected by the sound of the other person's voice or footsteps that it seems to him as if an orchestra is playing. He acknowledges his helplessness, but also seems happy to follow the other person's lead rather than being in control, as he craves their companionship and attention.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at me
I want you to acknowledge my presence and pay attention to me.
I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree
I feel completely vulnerable and unable to help myself, like a small kitten stuck in a tree.
And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud
I'm experiencing an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness that feels like I'm floating on a cloud.
I can't understand
I don't know why, but I'm having trouble figuring out my own feelings.
I get misty just holding your hand
Being near you has such an emotional impact on me that I feel like I'm in a dreamlike state of happiness and confusion at the same time.
Walk my way
Come towards me or walk with me.
And a thousand violins begin to play
You have such a profound effect on me that it feels like a beautiful orchestra is playing with every step you take.
Or it might be the sound of your hello
Just hearing your voice or greeting can have such an impact on me that it feels like I'm hearing beautiful music.
That music I hear
The way I feel when I'm around you is so intense that it feels like I'm hearing beautiful music all around me.
I get misty the moment you're near
Being near you intensifies my emotions so much that it feels like I'm in a dreamlike state of happiness and confusion at the same time.
You can say that you're leading me on
You could try to convince me that you're just playing with my emotions or leading me astray.
But it's just what I want you to do
Despite what you may be doing, I actually want you to lead me on and play with my emotions because being close to you is so important to me.
Don't you notice how hopelessly I'm lost
Can't you see how deeply you've affected me, and how much I need you in my life?
That's why I'm following you
I'm so attracted to you emotionally and physically that I'm willing to follow you anywhere and do anything for you.
On my own
By myself, without anyone else around.
Would I wander through this wonderland alone
If I didn't have you in my life, it feels like I would be lost and wandering aimlessly through life, feeling incomplete.
Never knowing my right foot from my left
I would be so directionless and unsure of myself that I wouldn't even know which way to turn.
My hat from my glove
I would be so lost and uncertain that even distinguishing between simple objects like a hat or a glove would be a challenge.
I'm too misty, and too much in love
I'm so completely lost in my love and attraction for you that it feels like I'm in a dreamlike state of happiness and confusion at the same time.
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Erroll Garner, Johnny Burke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheFred1935
I have said somewhere else that I have only just discovered Santo and Johnny, popular in the 60s I believe, I was in Australia in those years so we were behind everyone else.LOL. Lovely music. Thank you.
@economista57
Una sofisticada versión de esta inmortal melodía. Un saludo y una felicitación para estos magníficos intérpretes, donde quiera que se encuentren.......
@ajitsanghi
There is sure passion in the human soul that finds its food in this type of music. Twenty likes have got souls apart from their tuneful bodies. Who dares say S and J can ever die?
@jamesdokoupil5710
Misty is a song written for the steel guitar and tremlo.........beautiful!
@islomarque3397
Bonito recuerdos q t levantan el animo
@JUDA59ful
I always liked Santo & Johnny. I grew up listening to them. JUDA59ful
@Chabelo54
I'M ONLY 19 AND I LOVE THIS MUSIC. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! I'M SO HAPPY TO BE ALIVE!!
@OpheliaASMRr
Now you must be around 26 years old and apparently you won't even see this, but in the order of things, I'm 19 years old and I'm loving this song right now. It's funny, I hope you have a good life.
@antoniorivera5300
@@OpheliaASMRr I’m 16 loving this
@lukesmith-ib8fp
damn what i would give to life in the 60´s or 50´s