San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)
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| "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Scott McKenzie | |
| Released | 13 May 1967 |
| Format | 7" vinyl |
| Genre | Psychedelic pop |
| Length | 3:00 |
| Label | CBS Records (UK) Ode Records (US) |
| Writer(s) | John Phillips |
| Producer | Lou Adler and John Phillips |
"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.[1] It was written and released in 1967 to promote the Monterey Pop Festival.
The lyrics of the song tell the listeners, "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair". Due to the difference between the lyrics and the actual title, the title is often quoted as "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". "San Francisco," released on 13 May 1967, was an instant hit. By June 1967, it commanded the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Meanwhile, the song rose to number one in the United Kingdom and most of Europe. The single is purported to have sold over 7 million copies worldwide. The song is credited with bringing thousands of young people to San Francisco, California during the late 1960s.
In Central Europe, young people adopted "San Francisco" as an anthem for freedom, and it was widely played during Czechoslovakia's 1968 Prague Spring uprising.
The song has been featured in several films, including Frantic, The Rock, The Graduate, and Forrest Gump. It was also played occasionally by Led Zeppelin as part of the improvised section in the middle of "Dazed and Confused". U2's Bono also led the audience in singing this song during their PopMart performances in the San Francisco Bay Area on 18 and 19 June 1997.
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[edit] Other versions
- Petula Clark also released a version in 1967.
- Merrilee Rush released a version in 1968.
- Between 1969 and 1979, this song had been covered by various singers and groups in Hong Kong and Singapore. Among them were The Chopsticks of Hong Kong, and the Lions, Ervinna, Tracy Huang (黃露儀/黃鶯鶯) of Singapore.
- Tanya Tucker released a version in 1979.
- Audrey Landers released a version in 1984.
- Global Deejays released a version called The Sound of San Francisco in 2004.
- San Quinn sampled the chorus for their song "San Francisco Anthem
[edit] See also
- Best-selling singles worldwide
- List of number-one hits of 1967 (Germany)
- List of number-one singles of 1967 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles in 1967 (New Zealand)
- List of number-one hits in Norway
- List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
- List of songs about California
[edit] References
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 19th Edition - ISBN 1-904994-10-5
- The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
- The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
