Santo & Johnny - Come On In

The one Santo & Johnny song anyone remembers these days is Sleep Walk, their chart-topping hit from 1959. But Santo and Johnny Farina recorded prolifically for the Canadian-American label between 1959 and 1965, releasing 10 albums and dozens of singles. Among the 45s, only the immediate followup to Sleepwalk, Tear Drop, was a sizable hit. Their first several albums also were big sellers.

Santo & Johnny later took their combination of steel and electric guitar to the Imperial label for several LPs and then went on to make many more recordings in Italy where they were immensely popular.

Come On In was released on Canadian-American in 1962 and among the dozen tracks was Along the Navajo Trail, the title song from a 1945 Roy Rogers cowboy movie. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters had the big hit recording.

Along the Navajo Trail



As you can hear, Come On In backed the Farina brothers guitars with a large orchestra (conducted by Hutch Davie), not altogether successfully in some cases.

Santo & Johnny's Canadian-American recordings have been repackaged endlessly on CD and as downloads. Apparently the label's masters have been lost, so the quality of the reissues varies considerably. Proceed with caution is about the best advice I can give.

A Word About Spelling: You've probably noticed that the title of Sleep Walk is sometimes two words and others it's one. The same applies to the followup, Tear Drop. These titles were two words on the initial Santo & Johnny single releases but when the corresponding LPs were issued Sleepwalk and Teardrop had been condensed into one word. The confusion has endured ever since.

The Farina Brothers tapped into exotica music and tiki culture with their 1964 Canadian-American album Off Shore, which included Ebb Tide. It was also released as a single.

Uncredited - Wheels (cassette track)

One wonders what the targeted market was for Pop Jewels, a grab bag cassette of cover versions of instrumentals that were hits in the 1950s and '60s. Admittedly there are some pretty decent guitar instrumentals here -- eg., Ghost Riders in the Sky (original: Ramrods), Apache (Jorgen Ingmann) and Dance with the Devil (Cozy Powell). But with the originals of all of these readily available who exactly is going to buy this except for obsessive collectors.

This collection also includes its share of dreck including two songs you hope never to hear again -- Dance Little Bird (otherwise known as Bird Dance, Chicken Dance, etc.) and the repetitive electronic bleating of Popcorn.

It's obviously not the same group playing all 12 tunes as they vary greatly in instrumentation, sound quality and musical expertise.

I've always liked the String-A-Longs hit Wheels (1961). The version by Billy Vaughn is OK, too. But the one on Pop Jewels has to be heard to be believed. It's only a bit over two minutes but it seems to plod on forever, complete with fluffs by the guitarist and electronic strings that are so far in the background that they sound like the wind whistling through a crack in a leaky window. Picture a Legion or Elks hall on a Friday-Saturday night in the '60s and you'll get the idea.

Wheels



Pop Jewels was put out by the Quebec-based Madacy label, probably in the early 1980s, although there's no date or any recording information on the insert. It was sold mainly in discount stores. Watch those thrift store bins for your own personal copy.

For those of you who've stuck with me this far here's the String-a-Longs original of Wheels.

Los Relampagos - Dos Cruces (single)

Los Relampagos (The Lightning) was a popular instrumental group in Spain during the 1960s. They specialized in pop arrangements of classical and traditional Spanish songs and were influenced by bands like Johnny & the Hurricanes and The Shadows.

The Dos Cruces (Two Crosses) single dates from 1965. The lead guitarist is obviously a fan of The Shadows' Hank Marvin.

Dos Cruces



There are several albums by Los Relampagos available on CD or as downloads from several sources. Most concentrate on the group's popular recordings from the '60s and almost always include Dos Cruces. The quality of the recordings probably varies widely, so sample before buying if possible.

Los Relampagos continued recording regularly into the 1970s and there have been occasional reunions since then. The date isn't readily apparent but this performance of Dos Cruces on a TV show appears to have occurred well after the peak of their popularity. Audio quality is good, video less so.