Santo & Johnny were an Italian-American rock and roll duo from Brooklyn comprising brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. They are best known for their instrumental "Sleep Walk," which became a regional hit and eventually reached #1 on the pop charts when it was released nationally.[1][2]
Santo and Johnny Farina were born in Brooklyn, New York; Santo on October 24, 1937 and Johnny on April 30, 1941.[2][3] 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".[4]
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.[3] "Sleep Walk" is an instrumental steel guitar-based song recorded and released in 1959 by Santo & Johnny. The song was composed by brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. (The original single credits three Farinas, including an "Ann Farina" for the composition. It is sometimes.