Santo & Johnny

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Santo & Johnny
Santo & Johnny, 1972
Santo & Johnny, 1972
General information
Genre (s) Pop , jazz , rock 'n' roll , surf , easy listening
founding 1959
resolution 1976
Founding members
Santo Farina
Johnny Farina

Santo & Johnny are an American guitar - duo , the end of 1950 with the instrumental Sleepwalk became known.

Band history

Santo Farina (born October 24, 1937) is the brother of Johnny Farina (born April 30, 1941), both were born in Brooklyn , New York City . At the instigation of his father, Santo learned to play the Hawaiian guitar at the age of nine and after two years mastered the instrument so well that he could perform with it. He took lessons from a guitar teacher, and when he was 14 he formed an instrumental trio with another guitarist and a drummer. They also played Santo Farina's own compositions at parties and dance events.

When Johnny Farina was old and good enough to perform - Santo had taught him to play the electric guitar - he formed an instrument duo with his brother. The Farina Brothers made a name for themselves in New York in the 1950s and eventually recorded some demos that also helped them find a record company. Their first release was the instrumental Sleep Walk , which the two had composed with the help of mother and sister Ann. The melody was so well received that the single sold over a million times in the US alone and became one of the few instrumentals of the rock era to hit number 1 on the US Billboard charts. The two Farinas also became known internationally in one fell swoop and conquered the charts and radio stations in Europe, Mexico and Australia .

With the immediately following single Teardrop , also a family composition , they were also able to move into higher hit parade regions. Other singles, such as their version of the jazz classic Caravan ( Duke Ellington ) or a Jingle Bells variant , were successful until 1961. After that it became a little quieter around her. Their popularity rose again in the mid-1960s when they had their last US single hit in the charts in 1964 with their version of the 1956 hit In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember) by the Five Satins . Santo & Johnny also drew attention to themselves with an album with instrumental versions of Beatles songs. However, they were already more successful abroad than in the USA; so their version of And I Love Her was a number 1 hit in Mexico.

In the following years they traveled around the world, especially in Europe their success continued. Italy eventually became a second home, and after the end of their US label Imperial Records in the late 1960s, they mainly released on Italian labels. They got their own television show there, and in 1973 they had a number 1 hit in Italy with their version of the movie tune from The Godfather , which also went gold . After 16 years and over 40 albums together, the two brothers ended their collaboration in 1976. Santo Farina continued as a solo artist for some time, but has since withdrawn from the music business. Johnny continues to perform with the music from their time together in the USA.

Sleep Walk

Sleep Walk is a classic among instrumentals and was also part of the repertoire of Shadows , Ventures and Chantays . In 1981 Larry Carlton and nine-year-old singer Nikka Costa recorded two versions of their own and thus had a US chart hit. Four years later it was in the movie Porky's Revenge! heard in a version by Jeff Beck . In 1992 Santo Farina recorded the piece again for the soundtrack to the film Schlafwandler , in addition to numerous other film and television uses. In 1998 Brian Setzer , who had already recorded the song with his Stray Cats, recorded Sleepwalk in a rock / big band version with the Brian Setzer Orchestra and was awarded a Grammy for it.

Santo & Johnny's Sleep Walk inspired Fleetwood-Mac founder Peter Green to write his instrumental Albatross in 1968 , which became a worldwide hit, which in turn inspired the Beatles to write their song Sun King ( Abbey Road ). In 1999, Santo & Johnny's Sleep Walk was recognized by the US equivalent of GEMA , Broadcast Music Incorporated , for being played over two million times on US radio stations.

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Sleep Walk
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 07/25/1959 (18 weeks)
  UK 22nd 10/22/1959 (4 weeks)
Teardrop
  US 23 11/28/1959 (11 weeks)
  UK 50 04/06/1960 (1 week)
Caravan
  US 48 03/12/1960 (8 weeks)
Twistin 'Bells
  US 49 December 17, 1960 (3 weeks)
Hop scotch
  US 90 04/15/1961 (2 weeks)
I'll Remember (In the Still of the Night)
  US 58 January 18, 1964 (7 weeks)

Albums (selection)

  • Santo & Johnny (1959)
  • Encore (also released as Sleep Walk , 1960)
  • Hawaii (1961)
  • Come On In (1962)
  • Around the World ... With Santo & Johnny (1962)
  • In the Still of the Night (1964)
  • Santo & Johnny Wish You Love (1964)
  • The Beatles Greatest Hits Played by Santo & Johnny (1964)
  • Mucho (1965)
  • On the Road Again
  • Brilliant Guitar Sounds (1967)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b home.earthlink.net
  2. ↑ Rikky Rooksby: Fleetwood Mac. The Complete Guide to Their Music . Albatross, p. 17p.
  3. ↑ Charts UK Charts US
  4. ↑ bsnpubs.com ( Memento from October 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )