Where am I?: "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" Scott McKenzie (1967)
By John Roberts
@JohnRoberts (109846)
Los Angeles, California
April 21, 2018 7:58am CST
“San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” is the hippy anthem of the late 60s and listening takes one back to Haight-Asbury. John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas wrote the song to promote the Monterey Pop Festival which he was co-producing. He claimed to have written it in 20 minutes and played guitar on the track. The song was given to Phillips’ friend Scott McKenzie and appears on “The Voice of Scott McKenzie” album. “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” shot to Billboard #4 and UK #1.
McKenzie only produced two albums and one other top 40 hit in “Like an Old Time Movie” (#24). He was done by 1970 and would not resurface until the late 80s. McKenzie co-wrote the Beach Boys’ hit “Kokomo” and joined Phillips on the nostalgia trail with the New Mamas and the Papas from 1986 to 1998. He died in 2012.
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" is a song, written by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, and sung by Scott McKenzie. It was writt...
11 people like this
11 responses
@FourWalls (69063)
• United States
21 Apr 18
But I’m allergic to flowers! Can I wear a L.A. Dodgers baseball cap in my hair instead?
3 people like this
@FourWalls (69063)
• United States
21 Apr 18
@JohnRoberts — oh, that’s right, can’t show support for anyone there without fear of a beating. Unlike when I went to a Reds/Cardinals game in St. Louis: I wore a Cardinals shirt and a Reds cap! I have a Cubs cap and a Cardinals cap in the back of my car, too. That’ll give you funny looks.....(Or as Minnie Pearl once said, “Lady, you’ve got a funny look, but I didn’t give it to you.”)
2 people like this
@FourWalls (69063)
• United States
21 Apr 18
@JohnRoberts — or sympathy. “You’re a Marlins fan? I’m so sorry.”
(Or, “who are you married to on the team?”)
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Apr 18
@FourWalls You can wear a Marlins hat unless you can't handle gales of hysterical laughter.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
21 Apr 18
I loved San Francisco especially the cable cars! What a fun city! I must return some day soon!
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (160996)
• United States
21 Apr 18
Just reading the words takes me back to being a teen. Love the music.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (80812)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
21 Apr 18
Thank for sharing this. I really like this song. I was just a child in the 1960s and would have loved to be a hippie.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (182284)
• United States
21 Apr 18
I remember that song..big hit in the day!
1 person likes this
@Metsrock69 (3582)
• United States
21 Apr 18
It is a great song written about a great city
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (35762)
•
22 Apr 18
Flower Power!!!!! Scott McKenzie wore flowers in his hair when he recorded this song. No, really, lol.
1 person likes this
