"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 reported that their mother or sister helped, but this is apparently false.)It was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's 'Top 40' on August 17, 1959. It rose to the number-one position for two weeks in September (the 21st and the 28th)and remained in the 'Top 40' until November 9. "Sleep Walk" also reached number four on the R&B chart and was the last instrumental to hit number one in the 1950s and earned Santo & Johnny a gold record.

Cover versions

One of the first covers was by Betsy Brye(stage name of Bette Anne Steele) in 1959. While Santo & Johnny wrote lyrics for "Sleep Walk", they never recorded a lyrical version, but Betsy Brye's version included these lyrics.

It has been also covered by Brian Setzer Orchestra, Al Kooper doing the guitar part on synthesizer, Paul Mauriat, The Shadows, The Ventures, Jake Shimabukuro,Larry Carlton,Deftones, Leo Kottke,Chet Atkins,Danny Gatton, B. J. Cole, Micah P. Hinson, Amos Garrett, Henri Rene, Jonathan Richman, andJoe Satriani.

Brian Setzer's recording received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1998.

In America, Country Music Hall of Famer Jimmy Russell recorded his version of Sleepwalk in 2001.

In Europe, French award-winning guitarist Jean-Pierre Danel had a Top 20 hit with his instrumental version of the song recorded in 2006.

Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, The Raveonettes have all recorded adaptions of the song with lyrics.

Use in other media

"Sleep Walk" has remained popular due to consistent radio airplay as well as its usage in commercials, television shows, and movies.

The song appears prominently at the end of the 1987 film, La Bamba, during Ritchie Valens' funeral and the subsequent scene of his brother, Bob, screaming Ritchie's name to the heavens. The song also appears at the beginning of the film in the initial dream sequence up to the point where the two planes collide over the playground. It is probably due to its usage in this film that some people associate the song with Valens, who died some months before it was written.

The song was used in the 1992 Stephen King film, Sleepwalkers. In the 1995 film, Twelve Monkeys, the song plays over the car radio during a scene in which psychiatrist, Dr. Kathryn Railly, has been abducted by time traveler and mentally divergent, James Cole. The song was also used in Stacy Peralta's 2004 surf documentary, Riding Giants

Recently, the song was played in the movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and in the television series Heroes in an episode entitled "1961". It is played during a flashback to that time period.

References