"Sleep Walk" is an instrumental song written, recorded, and released in 1959 by American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's Top 40 on August 17, 1959. It rose to the number 1 position for the last two weeks in September and remained in the Top 40 until November 9. "Sleep Walk" also reached number 4 on the R&B chart. It was the last instrumental to hit number 1 in the 1950s and earned a gold record for Santo and Johnny. In Canada, the song reached number 3 in the CHUM Charts. In the UK it peaked at number 22 on the charts. As children, both Santo and Johnny Farina were encouraged by their father, Tony, to learn the steel guitar and write their own music. This music would be recorded on a Webcor tape recorder their father had bought for them. Unable to fall asleep one night after a gig, the Farina brothers decided to write some music, using the tape recorder to first record the harmonies to what would become "Sleep Walk". After adding and finalizing the steel guitar melody, Johnny Farina believed they had a hit song, so he spent a year and a half talking with various music publishers about the possibility of professionally recording "Sleep Walk". The "Sleep Walk" demo made a positive impression on Ed Burton of Trinity Music. After ultimately signing with Canadian-American Records, the brothers recorded "Sleep Walk" at Trinity Music, using a triple-neck Fender Stringmaster on the recording.

AgedGuitarTones plays the shadows

AgedGuitarTones

Sleepwalk

"Man of Mystery" is an instrumental rock piece by the Shadows, released as a single in November 1960. It peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. "Man of Mystery" was written by Michael Carr for the theme tune for the film series Edgar Wallace Mysteries, based on the books by Edgar Wallace. For the first three series, "Man of Mystery" was a "slow and haunting arrangement featuring flute, accordion and string section". However, from the fourth series, an up-tempo beat version featuring an electric guitar and percussion was used. The Shadows recorded their version of "Man of Mystery" in October 1960 and it was released as a double A-sided single with "The Stranger" in November. "Man of Mystery" was released in the US and Canada by Atlantic Records in February 1962, with the flip side "Kon Tiki", which had been released as a single in the UK in September 1961. Reviewing for Disc, Don Nicholl wrote of "Man of Mystery" that the "melody is forceful without being complicated. The instrumentalists play it with inbuilt excitement that ought to have jukes rattling everywhere". He also described "The Stranger" as "another fairly solid instrumental with a theme that's rather reminiscent of some western tunes which have gone before".

Man Of Mystery

"Foot Tapper" is an instrumental by British guitar group the Shadows, released as a single in February 1963.It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart, and was the Shadows' last UK number-one hit (not including those where they performed as Cliff Richard's backing group).

Background and reception
Filmmaker Jacques Tati went to see the Shadows at the Olympia in Paris in 1961 and asked them to write a song for his next film. So, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch wrote "Foot Tapper". However, Tati had funding difficulties and his next film, Playtime, did not appear until 1967. Instead, in 1963, the Shadows had a small role in the film Summer Holiday and its producer Peter Yates needed some music for the radio in the bus scene, so they offered up "Foot Tapper".  It was released in February as a re-recorded double A-sided single with the pop standard "The Breeze and I" a week earlier than planned.

Reviewed in New Record Mirror, it was described as "a beautifully balanced bit of recording with a compelling theme. Hank, Licorice and Bruce are in precise, driving form – but the side showcases Brian's forceful but controlled drumming, notably on cymbals. Just try and stop your foot tapping. It'll fair hurtle into the charts – and is probably even better than "Dance On". Reviewing for Disc, Don Nicholl described "Foot Tapper" as a "light-hearted modern dancer which will pull in as many customers as the other side – maybe more".

It is also known for being the signature tune and closing theme for the BBC Radio 2 programme Sounds of the 60s, from when it started in 1983 until Brian Matthew left the show in 2017.

Personnel
Hank Marvin – electric lead guitar
Bruce Welch – acoustic rhythm guitar
Brian "Licorice" Locking – electric bass guitar
Brian Bennett – drums, sistrum

AgedGuitarTones Plays The Shadows

FootTapper

"Geronimo" is an instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in November 1963. It peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

Release and reception
"Geronimo" was written by the Shadows' Hank Marvin and was released with the B-side "Shazam", originally recorded by Duane Eddy in 1960. "Geronimo" was recorded at EMI Studios (later renamed Abbey Road) in December 1962; "Shazam" was recorded at the Jubilee Theatre in Blackpool in August 1963 whilst the group were on tour.

Reviewed in Record Mirror, "Geronimo" was described as having "an "Apache" beat in the background, and the whole thing moves along smoothly. Maybe not up to the standard of some of their previous hits, but cleverly played, and with a driving beat. Norrie Paramor string and choral backing. But we don't reckon this'll do so well as most of theirs". For Disc, Don Nicholl wrote that it "gallops along well in the spirit of its Red Indian title" and that it is "a good production that ought to do at least as well as "Shindig".

Personnel
Hank Marvin – electric lead guitar, multi-tracked electric lead guitar
Bruce Welch – acoustic rhythm guitar
Brian "Licorice" Locking – electric bass guitar
Brian Bennett – drums
Norrie Paramor Strings – all other instrumentation

Geronimo

"The Savage" is an instrumental track by British group the Shadows, released as a single in November 1961. It peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and release
"The Savage" was released as a "double-sided hit" with "Peace Pipe". Both songs were written and produced by Norrie Paramor and the single was released to promote the film The Young Ones, which starred Cliff Richard.

Reviewing for Disc, Don Nicholl described "The Savage" as "a quite, twangy offering with quick, turbulent pace to it". He described "Peace Pipe" as "a more mellow melody. Flows along smoothly and is neatly played by the group".

The Shadows' Hank Marvin said that "The Savage" "is undoubtedly a mediocre record and should never have been released as a single", as "it hasn't a strong enough melody for a single release. It is a run-of-the-mill number with little to recommend it". The group learned of the planned release of the single whilst they were on tour in Australia. They tried to stop it being released, but the record company said they had already pressed 100,000 copies and that it was too late.

Personnel
Hank Marvin – electric lead guitar
Bruce Welch – acoustic rhythm guitar
Jet Harris – electric bass guitar
Tony Meehan – drums

Savage

The Shadows   originally released The Stranger written by Bill Crompton and Morgan Jones and The Shadows   released it on the single Man of Mystery in 1960

The Stranger

"Wipe Out" is a surf music instrumental composed by Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller and Ron Wilson. Composed in the form of twelve-bar blues,  the tune was first performed and recorded by the Surfaris, who became famous with the single in 1963. The Ventures covered "Wipe Out" on their albums Let's Go (1963) and The Ventures on Stage (1965).

AgedGuitarTones Plays The Ventures

WipeOut

"The Savage" was released as a "double-sided hit" with "Peace Pipe". Both songs were written and produced by Norrie Paramor and the single was released to promote the film The Young Ones, which starred Cliff Richard.

Peace Pipe

The song Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Me was written by Bruce Welch and John Rostill and was first released by The Shadows with The Norrie Paramor Strings in 1965

Blue Sky Blue Sea Blue Me

"Blue Star" is a popular song. The theme music of the television series, Medic, was written by Victor Young and copyright on February 17, 1955 under the title "The Medic Theme." A set of lyrics were written by Edward Heyman (who had a history of collaborating with Young) and with those lyrics and under the new title "Blue Star," a new copyright was issued on May 5, 1955.

Vocal versions
Eve Boswell With Glen Somers And His Orchestra, Parlophone, (1955)
Felicia Sanders with Norman Leyden Orchestra, Columbia Records, (1955)
Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1955 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.
Jan Peerce with Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra*, RCA Victor, (1955)
Linda Scott on Starlight, Starbright, Canadian-American, (1961)
Cyril Stapleton & His Orchestra with Julie Dawn, (1955) with the B-side being "Honey-Babe".

Instrumental versions
Ron Godwin & His Orchestra on Orchestra De Luxe Parlophone (1955)
Rudi Wairata and his Amboina Serenaders recorded as "Bintang Malam" on Amboina, CID/RCA Records, (1955)
Stanley Black on Plays For Latin Lovers, Decca Records, (1957)
Earl Grant on The Versatile Earl Grant, Decca Records, (1958)
Mantovani and His Orchestra, on Songs to Remember, London Records, (1959)
The Shadows on The Shadows, Columbia Records, (1961)
George Greeley on Piano Rhapsodies of Love, Reprise Records, (1963)
Kong Ling on This World We Live In, Diamond Records (1964)
The Ventures on Walk, Don't Run, Vol. 2, Dolton Records, (1964)
Kai Winding on Mondo Cane #2, Verve Records, (1964)
Fausto Papetti on I Remember N°3, Philips, (1966)
Ernest Ranglin – on Softly With Ranglin, Twilight Records, (1969)
Andrè Carr Orchestra E Coro on Blue Star, Harmony, (1976)
Jean-Pierre Danel on Guitar Ballads, Puzzle Productions, (2017)
Emery Deutsch on Emery and his Violin of Love
Les Baxter and his Orchestra, released on the Capitol Record Label in February of 1955. The recording was used as the musical theme for the American medical drama television series “Medic” that aired on NBC from September of 1954 to August of 1956.

Blue Star

Welcome to AgedGuitarTones, where we celebrate the timeless sound of classic guitar heroes. Here you'll find a carefully curated selection of tracks featuring the rich, warm tones of vintage guitars, played by some of the greatest guitarists of all time.

From the surf rock twang of The Ventures to the haunting melodies of David Gilmour, our tracks showcase the unmistakable sounds of guitar legends such as Hank Marvin, The Shadows, Duane Eddy, Mark Knopfler, Joe Satriani, and many more.

Our collection of tracks is a tribute to the guitar heroes of the past and a celebration of the timeless sound that they created. So sit back, turn up the volume, and let the AgedGuitarTones take you on a journey through the history of rock and roll, as we pay homage to the guitar greats who paved the way for generations to come.

The Stranger

AgedGuitarTones

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