Tag: Santo and Johnny

Max Picks …songs from 1959

1959

By this time Rock and Roll was not in a good state. Buddy Holly died in February, Jerry Lee Lewis had married his 13-year-old cousin earlier and got the canceled treatment years before it was a phrase, later in this year Chuck Berry would be arrested for the Mann Act, Little Richard was dedicated to the church, and Elvis was in the army in Germany. So you had artists like Anita Bryant, Pat Boone, Fabian, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, and more that I won’t post on the charts. All wasn’t lost though. You did have some great artists left. The one and only Ray Charles is a great place to start in 1959. This is my favorite Ray Charles song…What’d I Say…damn this song is good. It was written by the man himself…Ray Charles.

This is one of if not my favorite instrumentals of all time. Santo and Johnny released this great song called Sleep Walk. Santo Anthony Farina and John Steven Farina were brothers who grew up in Brooklyn. They played a guitar and a steel guitar which was not in many rock/pop bands. I remember this song best from the movie La Bamba in a very emotional scene. Sometimes music can make movies in certain scenes like La Bamba or Goodfellas. The song was written by Santo Farina, Johnny Farina, and Ann Farina.

I first learned about Jackie Wilson through a Van Morrison song titled…Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile). After hearing that song I looked for his music and what an artist! I found many artists by reading about others. Reading about the Beatles took me to Bob Dylan and the tree grew from there. This song was written by Berry Gordy, Roquel “Billy” Davis, and Gwendolyn Gordy.

Fats Domino was one of the old guards still pumping out the hits. This one is called I Want To Walk You Home. Fats wasn’t as flashy as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, or Little Richard but the man could play and sing like no one else. He was steady through the 50s and he did have some success in the 1960s. This song was written by Fats Domino.

I’m cheating a little on this song. It was recorded on December 16, 1958, and was released (and that is what I go by) at the end of December but it’s so close that I’m counting it. It charted in January of 1959 and because of the circumstances, I am posting his great double-A-sided single. At the time of the release… the song Donna was the A-side and La Bamba was the B-side. Ritchie Valens seemed to have a bright future in front of him but was taken from us in the plane crash that took Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. Donna was written by Ritchie Valens. He wrote the song about Donna Ludwig who was his high school sweetheart. La Bamba was an old Mexican folk song arranged by Ritchie Valens.

Santo and Johnny – Sleep Walk

This is my fifth song pick for Hanspostcard’s song draft. Santo and Johnny Sleep Walk.

I have always liked and admired good instrumentals. I look at them the same way I look at the great silent movies of the early 20th century. They have to get across what they want to say without dialog. That is not easy to do but when they succeed…they are great. When I hear Sleep Walk it’s like hearing a dream set to music…haunting and beautiful at the same time. 

 Lyrics would not do this song justice…it says all it needs to say. 

I first heard it on the movie La Bamba and I never grew tired of it. Unlike other soundtrack songs…I don’t think of the movie when I listen to this one. It’s on it’s own little island. 

I like many instrumentals but this one is probably my favorite. It sets a mood like no other. It was written and performed by Santo and Johnny Farina in 1959. It peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 and #22 in the UK Charts.