San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)

"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" is an American pop music[2] song, written by John Phillips, and sung by Scott McKenzie.[3] It was produced and released in May 1967 by Phillips and Lou Adler, who used it to promote their Monterey International Pop Music Festival held in June of that year.[4]

"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"
Side A of US vinyl single
Single by Scott McKenzie
from the album The Voice of Scott McKenzie
B-side"What's the Difference"
ReleasedMay 13, 1967 (1967-05-13)
Recorded1966
GenrePop
Length2:58
Label
Songwriter(s)John Phillips[1]
Producer(s)
Scott McKenzie singles chronology
"No, No, No, No, No"
(1966)		 "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"
(1967)		 "Look in Your Eyes"
(1967)

John Phillips played guitar on the recording and session musician Gary L. Coleman played orchestra bells and chimes. Bass guitar was supplied by session musician Joe Osborn. Hal Blaine played drums. The song reached the fourth position on the US charts and the number one spot on the UK charts. In Ireland, it was number one for one week, in New Zealand the song spent five weeks at number one, and in Germany it was six weeks at number one.

McKenzie's version has been called "the unofficial anthem of the counterculture movement of the 1960s, including the Hippie, Anti-Vietnam War and Flower power movements." The song has also been widely regarded as a defining song of the Summer of Love along with the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".

Composition
Cashbox advertisement, May 13, 1967

According to Paul Ingles of NPR, "...local authorities in Monterey were starting to get cold feet over the prospect of their town being overrun by hippies. To smooth things over, Phillips wrote a song, "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)."[5] Phillips reported writing the song in about 20 minutes.[6] It is one of the first major hits in popular music industry to use vi–IV–I–V chord progression, a variant of I–V–vi–IV progression, which has seen enormous popularity in recent years, in pop music, as well as in orchestral music.[7]

The song is credited with bringing thousands of young people to San Francisco during the late 1960s.[8]

Different issues of the recording use slightly different titles, including: "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"; "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)"; and "San Francisco 'Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair'".[9]

Reception

Released on May 13, 1967, the song was an instant hit. By the week ending July 1, 1967, it reached the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, where it remained for four consecutive weeks.[10] Meanwhile, the song rose to number one in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and most of Europe. In July 1967, McKenzie's previous record label, Capitol, claimed that the "follow-up" to this was their re-release of his earlier single, "Look in Your Eyes."[11] The single is said to have sold over seven million copies worldwide.[12]

The song has been featured in several films, including Frantic, The Rock, and Forrest Gump. It was also played occasionally by Led Zeppelin as part of the improvised section in the middle of "Dazed and Confused".[13][14] U2's Bono also led the audience in a sing-along during their PopMart performances in the San Francisco Bay Area on June 18 and 19, 1997. New Order covered it on July 11, 2014, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.[15] A cover by Michael Marshall appears in the 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco.[16]

Personnel

Chart history

Johnny Hallyday version
"San Francisco"
Single by Johnny Hallyday
from the album Johnny au Palais des sports
Released1967 (1967)
LabelPhilips
Songwriter(s)
Johnny Hallyday singles chronology
"Petite fille"
(1967)		 "San Francisco"
(1967)		 "L'histoire de Bonnie and Clyde"
(1968)

French singer Johnny Hallyday recorded the song in French, with the title "San Francisco". His version reached number five in Wallonia (French Belgium) in 1967.[36]

Track listings

7-inch single Philips B 370.454 F (1967)

  1. "San Francisco" (3:10)
  2. "Mon fils" (4:00)[36]

7-inch EP Philips 437.380 BE (1967)

A1. "San Francisco" (3:10)
A2. "Fleurs d'amour et d'amitié" (2:39)
B1. "Mon fils" (3:58)
B2. "Psychédélic" (3:20)[36]

Charts
"San Francisco" / "Mon fils"[36][37]
Chart (1967–68) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[36] 5

Other covers

British band Psykick Holiday did a cover in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the song. It was a double A-side single with Let's Go to San Francisco as the other track. The band also did a Summer of Love EP featuring a French & Spanish version of both songs.

In 2020 and 2022, the English tracks came out on the Compilations' "Femme Fatales of Music" Vol. 1 & 2, credited to Vanessa White Smith, the main vocalist with Psykick Holiday. All releases were on Future Legend Records and made available on iTunes.

American rock band Greta Van Fleet is also known to have covered the song live during their early career. Traces of the song can be heard in their unreleased song called "Written in Gold". This version of the song is very reminiscent to the version heard on The Song Remains the Same (film) by Led Zeppelin, which the band is often compared too in terms of style and influences.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 110. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie | Song Info | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 42 – The Acid Test: Psychedelics and a sub-culture emerge in San Francisco. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  4. Davis, Clive (February 19, 2013). "8: Monterey Pop". The Soundtrack of My Life. New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 62–64. ISBN 9781476714790.
  5. Ingles, Paul (June 15, 2017). "A Look Back At Monterey Pop, 50 Years Later". National Public Radio. NPR. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  6. John Phillips interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  7. "San Francisco Chords by Scott McKenzie", ultimate-guitar.com/
  8. Grogan, Emmett (1972). Ringolevio, a life played for keeps (1st ed.). Little, Brown. ISBN 9780862418939.
  9. "San Francisco", Discogs.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019
  10. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 415.
  11. "Ode & Capitol In A Hassle - McK in Middle". Billboard. July 22, 1967. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  12. Carson, Jim (August 5, 2011). "Did You You: "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" By Scott McKenzie". CBS Radio. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  13. "Kezar Stadium - June 2, 1973". Led Zeppelin | Official Website. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  14. Rey 1997, p. 253.
  15. "New Order***Full Concert***Live at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, SF, CA, July 11, 2014-Joy Division". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
  16. "How The Last Black Man in San Francisco Soundtrack Reshapes the City's Hippie Nostalgia". Pitchfork.com. June 17, 2019.
  17. "Go-Set Australian charts - 26 July 1967". Poparchives.com.au. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  18. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  19. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  20. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  21. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10081." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  22. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – San Francisco". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  23. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  24. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit MAU - MEM". August 12, 2015.
  25. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  26. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  27. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz.
  28. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". VG-lista. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  29. "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  30. "Scott McKenzie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  31. "Scott McKenzie Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  32. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 22, 1967". Tropicalglen.com.
  33. "RPM Top 100 Singles of 1967". Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  34. "Top 100 Hits of 1967/Top 100 Songs of 1967". Musicoutfitters.com.
  35. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 23, 1967". Tropicalglen.com.
  36. "Johnny Hallyday – San Francisco" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  37. "Johnny Hallyday - Mon fils". Ultratop.be. Retrieved December 6, 2017.

Bibliography

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