The Farina brothers, Santo & Johnny, were born in Brooklyn, New York. Santo, October 24, 1937 and Johnny, April 30, 1941. The boys were young when their Dad was drafted into the Army and stationed in Oklahoma. There on the radio he heard this beautiful music, it was the sound of the steel guitar. He wrote home to his wife and said "I'd like the boys to learn to play this instrument". When he returned from the war they searched out to a man who could get them started with the steel. Years later, they formed a band, playing at church dances, weddings and clubs. The Farina brothers began to gather fans from Brooklyn to Long Island.
As their popularity grew locally they recorded a couple of demo tapes. Johnny made the rounds of the New York record companies. One day Johnny decided to try a music publishing company and there is where the history of "Sleep Walk" started, they signed a song writer's contract which later on lead them to Canadian American Records. Their first release in 1959 was "Sleep Walk" which was written by Santo & Johnny. It was the last #1 instrumental of the 50's and earned them a Gold Record. With their unmistakable sound, they appeared on all the top music shows, "The Alan Freed Show", "Dick Clark’s American Bandstand", "The Perry Como Show" etc.
Their fame spread to other countries and they were booked on tours in Australia, Mexico and Europe. They were than signed to an Italian record label and had a string of hits in Europe starting with "Sleep Walk" followed by hit singles, Love Story, Maria Elena, Ebb Tide, Love is Blue, Enchanted Sea, etc, etc. They also did all the cover records for the James Bond films.
In 1965 they released an LP of Beatle’s songs. "And I Love Her" hit the #1 spot and held it for 21 weeks in Mexico and they received The Golden Kangaroo Award for it in Mexico. They released 9 albums on the Canadian American label and than in 1966 they were on United Artist Records, then in 1967 they released 4 albums on the Imperial label. In 1973 they recorded "The Godfather" movie theme. It held the #1 spot for them in Italy for 26 weeks which broke all records in Italy. They received a Gold Record for it in Italy and were inducted into the Hall of Fame in Italy as well.
Santo & Johnny were now International artists. They had recorded and released over 40 albums worldwide. They worked these 14 years playing clubs and casinos all over Europe. They also had their own TV Show in Italy.
Johnny has kept the magical steel guitar sound alive performing as a solo artist all over the country since the early 70's.
Appearances include The Greek Theater in California, The Paramount Theater in NYC, They Hollywood Casino in Mississippi, Ruth Echard Hall in Florida, The Continental Arena/The Meadowlands in New Jersey, The Philharmonic Center in Naples, Florida, The Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, Madison Square Garden in NYC, Harrahs in Las Vegas, etc.
1999 was a great year for "Sleep Walk", it earned BMI's Millionaires Award symbolizing 2 million airplays on the radio. Also in 1999 a version of "Sleep Walk" by Brian Setzer earned the song a Grammy Award for best instrumental of 1999. In 2002 Santo & Johnny were inducted into the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Hanging proudly on his wall, Johnny has 2 Gold Records, one for "Sleep Walk" and on for "The Godfather".
Because of constant radio airplay and play in numerous TV shows and commercials, "Sleep Walk" continues to be one of the most popular and quickly recognized instrumentals of the 20th century. Johnny's performance is an energy packed show with great memories guaranteed!