Santo & Johnny Sleepwalk Views
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.[citation needed]
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.[6]) 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)[2] 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.[5] 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.[citation needed] They received a gold record in Italy and were inducted into the Italian Music Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Santo & Johnny Sleepwalk Images
