Vintage Rock – September-October 2019

T

his is the story of two brothers

from Brooklyn, New York;

Santo, born 24 October, 1937, and

younger brother Johnny, who was born

on 30 April, 1941. In 1959, they created

and recorded a song that’s been used in

countless movies, international commercials

and other projects, and its popularity shows

no signs of letting up. Johnny, who currently

presides over a Manhattan-based record

company, Aniraf Inc, says he still averages

three weekly requests from people wanting

to license Sleep Walk.

It’s been recorded or performed by the

likes of Eric Clapton, The Shadows, Jeff

Beck, Carlos Santana, James Burton and Les

Paul. In 1998, Stray Cats leader Brian Setzer

won an American Grammy award for Best

Instrumental Pop Performance with the

song, which has also been considered an

inspiration for Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross,

The Beatles’ Sun King, and John Lennon’s

Free As A Bird.

After Santo & Johnny’s American hits

trailed off in the early 60s, their popularity

only started growing internationally.

In Mexico, their 1965 rendition of The

Beatles’ And I Love Her topped the charts

for an incredible 22 straight weeks. Recalls

Johnny, “We had just landed there and were

waiting for the other passengers to get off

the plane. When I looked out the window,

in the pouring rain were literally hundreds

of people. I said to Santo, ‘There must be

somebody really famous on the plane.’

I’m thinking, ‘Maybe The Beatles.’ So we

exit the plane, and all of a sudden I hear

our record being played, and people

are screaming for us. I said, ‘Wow, this

is unbelievable!’”

Santo retired from the act in the mid-70s,

but Johnny still enjoys performing for fans,

both old and new.

“God has given me so much,” he says. “I’m

thankful for all of it, and never take anything

for granted.”

OK, so how did a couple of young Italian

guys living in Brooklyn in the late 50s,

when most of your contemporaries were

into doo-wop, become acquainted with

an exotic Hawaiian instrument like the

steel guitar?

It was through my father who was stationed

in the army in Texas, and later Oklahoma. By

accident, he heard this beautiful instrument

and wrote home to my Mom, “I want my

boys to learn this type of guitar.” He gave

the order, and that was that! In those days,

kids really listened to their parents. So, even

though none of us knew anything about the

steel guitar, my Mom found somebody who

could teach us how to play it. Really, without

our father buying us the instrument and

being the main driving force behind us, none

of our success would have happened.

What was the inspiration for Sleep Walk?

One night, Santo and I couldn’t sleep. We

started jamming, and the inspiration just

hit us. Fortunately, our father had bought

us this Webcor reel-to-reel tape recorder,

so our ideas were saved when we got up the

next morning.

How supportive were your parents of

your decision to go into music full time?

After we made a demo, I quit school at 16

and told my father, “We’re gonna be stars.”

He’d say, “What’s wrong with this guy? He

sleeps all day and goes out at night.” I tried

explaining to him, that’s when the music

business happens.”

I would imagine, with no proven track

record, plus your age, it wasn’t easy

convincing someone at a record company

to take a chance on Sleep Walk.

No. I had bought myself two books. One had

the addresses of record companies, and the

other was publishers. Because I was only

16 and was too young for a driver’s license,

I would take the train to go from Brooklyn

to Manhattan, and one day I looked up the

famous Brill Building. [The future home of

songwriting legends Carole King and Gerry

Goffi n, Burt Bacharach, and others –Ed.]

I had an uncle who drove a limo, so I told

him I’d pay him on his day off to drive me

there, park in front of the building, and

with his fancy outfi t open the door for me.

I fi gured maybe some important producer

would see me getting out of the limo and be

interested in me, but it seemed no one going

into the building even noticed.

“Sleep Walk is not just a song,” insists 78-year-old Johnny Farina.

“In my house it’s a shrine.” One half of sibling instrumentalists

Santo & Johnny takes us back to their No.1 smash six decades on

WORDS BY ELLIOT STEPHEN COHEN

“GOD HAS GIVEN ME

SO MUCH. I’M

THANKFUL FOR ALL

OF IT, AND NEVER

TAKE ANYTHING

FOR GRANTED”

Santo & Johnny