Santo & Johnny - Santo & Johnny (1959)

Santo & Johnny - Encore (1960)

Santo & Johnny - Hawaii (1961)

Santo & Johnny - Come on in (1962)

Santo & Johnny - Around the World (1962)

Santo & Johnny - Off Shore (1963)

Santo & Johnny - Wish You Love (1964)

Santo & Johnny - Mucho (1965)

People request Santo & Johnny´s debut album again and again, but there´s more where that came from... I got seven more records of those two guys, some are collaborations with Hugo Montenegro and Mort Garson backing them up with their orchestras. I haven´t ripped the other seven yet, because I have very little time. But if you want to increase your Santo & Johnny collection, please take a peek at my F.A.Q.-list...

The brothers Santo and Johnny Farina were born and raised in Brooklyn. Inspired by the country music he heard on the radio, Santo adopted the steel guitar as a teen, and at age 14 he formed an instrumental trio, soon after writing his first original songs. At the same time he began teaching his younger brother Johnny to play standard electric guitar, and they started performing as a duo. For the tiny Brooklyn label Trinity Records, Santo and Johnny debuted in 1959 with "Sleepwalk", a hauntingly atmospheric instrumental they'd composed with the aid of their mother. They soon issued their self-titled debut LP, also notching a hit with their follow-up single "Teardrops"; however, the duo's popularity quickly slid, although they issued at least seven more albums for Canadian-American. They have almost become forgotten, but thanks to me ;o) you can listen to it. Here we travel to "Istanbul" from their album "Around the World", which they did together with Hugo Montenegro and his Orchestra, as an appetizer:

Santo & Johnny - Istanbul

Tony Mottola - Roman Guitar (1966)

I suppose you all know who Tony Mottola was, so I don´t have to introduce him at all. I only want to present this album, because it is named after me! Wow! There´s no album called "Henry Guitar", "Bill Guitar" or "Peter Guitar", but there is "Roman Guitar". What a great title! That´s why I bring you the title track of this album, named "Roman Guitar" too. Please enjoy...

Blonker - Fantásia (1980)

Dieter Geike from Hamburg, Germany, is still an excellent guitar player. That´s what he always was, but not only a guitar player. He is a great composer as well. "Blonker" was his one-man-project, and he composed and performed several great classic guitar instrumentals. Since I could not decide which one to post for your listening pleasure, I bring you two pieces of superb easy-listening guitar, written and performed by Mr. Geike.

I´m not sure whether his LPs were available in other countries or not, but his first one (called "Fantásia") is out of print in Germany up to now. Well, I´m sure that you know his tunes, ´cause they stand right up there, side to side with other great always recognizable guitar instrumentals like Fleetwood Mac´s "Albatross", The Allman Brothers´ "Jessica", Duane Eddy´s "Rebel Rouser", The Shadows´ "Apache" and The Spotnicks´ "Amapola". This is THE easy-listening guitar from Germany. Both tracks are written by Dieter Geike, and I bet that you´ve heard at least one of them before. Here are "Sidewalk Café" and "Indigo" from 1977, both featured on this classic and excellent album. See if you can get yourself a copy of this, it´s highly recommended...

Ooops, I almost forgot: The great cover paintings of Blonker´s albums were done by his pal Ulrich Schütt. Superb artwork that is...

Les Baxter - Wild Guitars (1959)

Sounds like... No, not Herb Alpert, although he´s got a record with the same title. No, not "Wild Guitars"... "Sounds Like..."! But anyway, this one almost sounds like Esquivel, it was Baxter´s version of a Stereo Action record. I´m sure you´ll like it, so don´t miss it.

Chet Atkins - Teensville (1959)

Chet Atkins was one of the most famous guitar pickers. Along with Floyd Cramer and Owen Bradley, he was one of the creators of what became known as the "Nashville sound", which paired country singers with lush orchestration and a steel guitar. Some of his best works you can find on this LP from 1959, where you can hear his metamorphosis from a mainstream country musician to a pop star. Chet died in 2001.