Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll duo from Brooklyn, New York.<… Read Full Bio ↴Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll duo from Brooklyn, New York.

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.

Show & Tell
Santo & Johnny Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

These are the eyes that never knew how to smile
Till you came into my life

And these are the arms that long to lock you inside
Every day and every night

Girl, and here is the soul of which you've taken control
Can't you see I'm trying to show love is right

Oh, show and tell
Just a game I play, when I want to say
I love you
Girl, so show me, and tell me
That you feel the same way too
Say you do, baby

These are the hands that can't help reaching for you
If you're anywhere inside (anywhere inside)

And these are the lips that can't help calling your name
In the middle of the night (middle of the night)

Oh, and here is the man that needs to know where you stand
Don't you know I've done all I can, so decide

Oh, show and tell
It's just a game I play, when I want to say
I love you
Girl, so show me, and tell me
That you feel the same way too
Say you do, say you do
Baby, baby, baby

Here is the soul of which you've taken control
Can't you see I'm trying to show love is right

Ooh, girl
Show and tell
Just a game I play, when I want to say
Oh, I love you
Girl, so show me, and tell me
That you feel the same way too
Say you do, say you do, baby

Oh, show and tell
Just a game I play, when I want to say
Oh, I love you

Girl, so show me, and tell me
That you feel the same way too

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Santo & Johnny's song "Show & Tell" tell the story of a man who has finally found love and is expressing all of the deep emotions he has been holding inside. The first lines, "These are the eyes that never knew how to smile till you came into my life", illustrate how the man's life has changed since he met the woman he loves. He goes on to say that he wants to lock her in his arms every day and every night, and that she has taken control of his soul. He pleads with her to show and tell him that she feels the same way he does and that love is right.

Throughout the song, the man speaks about how much he loves the woman and how much he needs her. He talks about how his hands reach for her and how he calls her name in the middle of the night. The repeated line, "Oh, show and tell, just a game I play when I want to say I love you", emphasizes the sentiment that expressing love can sometimes feel like a game or a challenge.

Overall, the lyrics to "Show & Tell" are a beautiful expression of love and the emotions that come with it. The plea for the woman to show and tell him her feelings is a universal message that many people can relate to.

Line by Line Meaning

These are the eyes that never knew how to smile Till you came into my life
My life was incomplete until you came along and made me happy like never before.

And these are the arms that long to lock you inside Every day and every night
I am constantly yearning to hold you in my arms and never let you go.

Girl, and here is the soul of which you've taken control Can't you see I'm trying to show love is right
You have captured my heart, and I want to prove to you that love is the right choice for us.

Oh, show and tell Just a game I play, when I want to say I love you Girl, so show me, and tell me That you feel the same way too Say you do, baby
I use the game of show and tell to express my love for you, and I hope you feel the same way about me.

These are the hands that can't help reaching for you If you're anywhere inside (anywhere inside)
My hands ache to hold you close to me no matter where you are.

And these are the lips that can't help calling your name In the middle of the night (middle of the night)
I find myself calling out your name in the middle of the night because I can't help thinking about you.

Oh, and here is the man that needs to know where you stand Don't you know I've done all I can, so decide
I need to know where we stand in this relationship, and I've done everything I can to show my love. It's up to you to decide how you feel about us.

Ooh, girl Show and tell Just a game I play, when I want to say Oh, I love you Girl, so show me, and tell me That you feel the same way too
I'm telling you again that show and tell is just how I express my love to you, and I hope you'll show and tell me that you love me too.

Say you do, say you do, baby Oh, show and tell Just a game I play, when I want to say Oh, I love you Girl, so show me, and tell me That you feel the same way too
Please tell me that you love me too, so I can keep playing this game of show and tell to express our love for each other.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JERRY FULLER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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