[4] Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City.

[10] As children, both Santo and Johnny Farina were encouraged by their father, Tony,[11] to learn the steel guitar and write their own music.

[11][12] 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".

[14] Announced on the radio by DJ Alan Freed,[12][13] the instrumental rose in popularity until it became the number 1 single for the last two weeks of September of that year.

[12][15][16] After losing the position to Bobby Darin's recording of "Mack the Knife",[17] it remained on Billboard's Top 40 until November 1959.