About
Steve Farley is committed to bringing you the beautiful sound of a concert grand piano with orchestra music for the mature ear. Specializing in popular standards and love ballads, Steve mixes his piano playing with the beautiful lull of orchestra backing. He writes many of the songs offered, and for contrast always throws in a couple rag time tunes. He takes pleasure of releasing his first recordings which are timeless. Beautiful love ballads plus a couple rag time tunes to lighten the mood.
Steve at Work
My Story
Born in 1949, I grew up on a sheep and dairy farm in Almont Michigan. We also grew 40 acers of asparagus plus other vegetable crops that we took to a large farmer’s market in Detroit. Chores and work year around consumed me.
Both of my grandmothers had played piano in silent movies (one in New York and the other in Winnipeg Canada). When I was 7 years old, my paternal grandmother gifted us a piano, and I started picking out tunes on right away.
The same year, I was making up my own melodies. You could say I was hooked, right from the beginning!
I also took piano lessons for three years, until my grandmother could no longer afford to pay for them. While I did okay with the lessons, I much more advanced when playing by ear. It was easier for me, and fun.
I played so much that I bought a $5 piano and put it outside in the chicken coop, so as not to bother my family while they were trying to listen to the radio. It needed tuning, so I taught myself how to tune on that old clunker. At first I only tuned for relatives and friends, and then I started tuning pianos for the public… which I still enjoy to this day!
My first job, in highschool, was playing the piano every Saturday night for a square dance band in a barn, and I absolutely loved it.
Then I joined the Air Force, but upon leaving the military I returned to my passion as a pianist—playing 9 jobs a week while attending electronics school. This led to 22 years of TV repair by day then playing piano & singing in smoky bars or night clubs at night.
The next 15 years was all TV repair, restoring antique cars, and piano tuning… until I was asked to come to Cincinatti and record a song I’d written in a professional recording studio.
I fell in love with those two days! It was exciting to hear my song come to life with piano and orchestra backup! Upon returning home, I decided to start recording myself because I couldn’t wait to do more recording with piano and orchestra music, and I just love the sound of a concert grand piano.
This involved a lot of studying, and equipment, to make an impeccable recording for my first album: ‘When I Fall in Love’.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Still a resident in my hometown of Lapeer, MI, I perform concerts in surrounding areas and my spare time is spent recording for a new album. My goal in life is to write a song that becomes a standard in years to come, and I enjoy putting my own special touch on the music that I work so hard to record for fans.
About Steve’s Music
Piano and Orchestra Music by Steve Farley
Steve Farley is committed to providing you the beautiful sound of a concert grand piano with orchestra for the mature ear. Specializing in popular standards and love ballads, Steve mixes his piano playing with beautiful full orchestra backing. He writes many of the songs offered and for contrast always throws in a couple rag time tunes.
You can catch a glimpse of Steve performing a few songs by clicking HERE.
Click Here to view Steve’s entire music collection. You can listen to samples of 40+ recordings and purchase any of Steve’s music.
Steve takes the pleasure of releasing his first recordings which are timeless. Beautiful love ballads plus a couple ragtime tunes to lighten the mood. Click the CD Baby tab to sample these recordings.
I Relive Every Moment
Steve wrote this song in the summer of 2009. It’s a sad and dramatic piano and orchestra instrumental featuring a saxophone in the second verse. The song has also been rerecorded with words and vocal by singer, songwriter January. The song then is titled “The First Time” also on this album.
Gods Been Good To Me
A very deep and moving instrumental featuring Steve’s concert grand piano style. The song tells of the trials and blessings of life. Written in 2008 and recorded in 2009.
El Paso Sunrise
This Spanish/Country type of song is played with the famous “slip note” style made famous by Floyd Cramer. Steve wrote it in 2001 while playing in a western style restaurant. During recording he added orchestra and background singers to the piano and Spanish guitar to give it a full, more modern flavor.
The Petticoat Waltz
The petticoat Waltz will take you back to the grand ball dancing of 150 years ago where the women wore huge dresses with petticoats underneath to give them body. There was always an orchestra, and chandeliers above; lit with candles. This 2005 composition of Steve’s may very well be his best.
Close To You
A famous song written by Burt Bacharach and H. David and made famous by The Carpenters. This recording is structured very similar with the vocal being sung by January. January also sings her own harmony background. The fading at the end gives a real sense of longing and in love
Love Story
Steve made two recordings of Love Story because he feels this beautiful song was “made for piano”. This recording uses a mystical guitar placed over some of the piano parts to make it his “James Bond” version.
I Just Reach Out
This beautiful love ballad is the result of the combined talents of the team, Steve and January. Steve writes the music and January writes the lyrics. This song tells the story of being in love with someone, and so desperately wanting that person to know you exist. This was their first recording together.
The First Time
This being the fifth recording made by Steve and January is the result of January’s lyric writing talent and Steve’s song writing. Writing words to “I relive Every Moment” and changing the name, January gave birth to this emotional ballad telling of love at first sight.
You Say “I Do”
As a tribute to his wife, Doug Day, A talented song writer of gospel music and preacher, wrote these words to Steve’s earlier recording, El Paso Sunrise. A man showing his love to his wife. Doug sings on this recording.
If You Were Mine
Steve’s first professional recording and only recording not mixed and mastered by him. It was recorded in Cincinnati Ohio. Steve wrote the song in 2005. It’s very dramatic and written for piano and orchestra.
Alley Cat
A very famous cute song written in the fifties by Bent Fabric. It is especially good for the old upright piano at parties etc. Here Steve plays it on his grand and puts some sophistication to by adding strings to the bounce of drums and acoustic bass.
The Model T Rag
Being the owner of a model T Ford, and being an antique auto nut, Steve just had to write this tune; portraying the feeling you get riding in a model T. Steve has restored and worked on several and logged many miles in the “Flivers”. He added the sound of the coils buzzing, the buzzer horn, a police whistle, and an actual backfire from his 1923 touring.