By: Staff
The quintessential steel guitarist of our contemporary era, Johnny Farina of “Santo & Johnny” has been touring Europe and America for the past fifty years, regularly performing at Concerts and Festivals and has also been well received in Mexico and Australia, too.
Johnny will be on board to entertain folks at The Cutting Room, New York City, on Saturday, June 8, 2013.
“Santo & Johnny” collected a Gold Record in 1959 for their prolific original instrumental tune – “Sleep Walk” – which they wrote and released that year.
This song has been covered by more than Two Hundred different artists in its long history and has been heard in over Twenty Movies, TV Programs and Series and TV commercials as well, from 1959 to 2013.
Even more remarkable is the fact that this composition has recently been credited with over Four Million Certified Airplays since its release in 1959!
“Santo & Johnny” had a TV Show in Italy and were also inducted into the Hall of Fame there for the success of their instrumental version of “The Godfather Theme” –which remained in the Number One position on the charts in Italy for Twenty Six weeks in 1973, and for which they also earned a Gold Record.
As a solo artist, Johnny Farina has been recognized, as well, by David Hinckley of The Daily News in 1996, who wrote that this “….’59 hit instrumental keeps on twanging.”
And Robbie Woliver of The Long Island Voice commented in 1998 that “Sleep Walk” is “….part of our collective being, it’s in our DNA. You know it, even if you never heard it.” In the same year, Johnny was also awarded the Long Island Music Awards “Hall of Fame Award” for “Sleep Walk” at their annual Awards Ceremony.
Capping this Award, “Sleep Walk” was recognized again in 1999 with a Grammy Award for the Best Pop Instrumental Performance, as recorded the year before by The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Former Front Man and Guitarist of ”The Stray Cats”).
In 2002, “Santo & Johnny” were inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in St. Louis, in acknowledgement of their outstanding work on this unique instrument over the years. Following that, Johnny was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 for “Sleep Walk” in recognition of its repeated use in full length feature films at the Long Island Film Festival.
In total, Johnny Farina and “Santo & Johnny” have recorded and released 35 Albums and over 50 Singles worldwide in their career, spanning over Fifty years to date. And during this performance you will hear such classic tunes as “Tear Drop” – “All Night Diner” – “Caravan” – and of course – “Sleep Walk.”
Venue Information:
44 E. 32nd St.
New York, NY, 10016
PR Source: The Cutting Room
