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

January 05, 2023

"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

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, which tells the listeners, "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair",[3] is credited with bringing thousands of young people to San Francisco, California, during the late 1960s.[citation needed]

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'".[8]

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.[9] 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."[10] The single is said to have sold over seven million copies worldwide.[11] In Central Europe, young people adopted "San Francisco" as an anthem, leading the song to be widely played during Czechoslovakia's 1968 Prague Spring uprising.

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".[12][13] 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.[14] A cover by Michael Marshall appears in the 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco.[15]

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.[35]

Track listings

7" single Philips B 370.454 F (1967)

  1. "San Francisco" (3:10)
  2. "Mon fils" (4:00)[35]

7" 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)[35]

Charts

"San Francisco" / "Mon fils"[35][36]
Chart (1967–68) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[35] 5

Other Covers

British band Psykick Holiday did a cover of San Francisco in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of peace & Love & the song . It was a double 'A' single with Lets go to San Francisco' being the other track. The band also did a summer of love EP featuring French & Spanish version of the two songs. In 2020 & 2022 the English tracks came out under main vocalist with the above band Vanessa White Smith on the Compilations 'Femme Fatales of music Vol.1 & 2. All releases were on Future Legend Records and out on Itunes etc.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ "San Francisco", Discogs.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 415.
  10. ^ "Ode & Capitol In A Hassle - McK in Middle". Billboard. July 22, 1967. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  11. ^ Carson, Jim (August 5, 2011). . CBS Radio. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  12. ^ "Kezar Stadium - June 2, 1973". Led Zeppelin | Official Website. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Rey 1997, p. 253.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "How The Last Black Man in San Francisco Soundtrack Reshapes the City's Hippie Nostalgia". Pitchfork.com. June 17, 2019.
  16. ^ . Poparchives.com.au. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  17. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  18. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  19. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10081." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  21. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – San Francisco". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  22. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  23. ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit MAU - MEM". August 12, 2015.
  24. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  25. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  26. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz.
  27. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". VG-lista. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  28. ^ "Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  29. ^ "Scott McKenzie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  30. ^ "Scott McKenzie Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  31. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 22, 1967". Tropicalglen.com.
  32. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles of 1967". Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  33. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1967/Top 100 Songs of 1967". Musicoutfitters.com.
  34. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 23, 1967". Tropicalglen.com.
  35. ^ a b c d e "Johnny Hallyday – San Francisco" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  36. ^ "Johnny Hallyday - Mon fils". Ultratop.be. Retrieved December 6, 2017.

Bibliography

External links

  • Scott McKenzie - San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) on YouTube

January 05, 2023
francisco, sure, wear, flowers, your, hair, american, music, song, written, john, phillips, sung, scott, mckenzie, produced, released, 1967, phillips, adler, used, promote, their, monterey, international, music, festival, held, june, that, year, side, vinyl, s. 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 singleSingle by Scott McKenziefrom the album The Voice of Scott McKenzieB side What s the Difference ReleasedMay 13 1967 1967 05 13 Recorded1966GenrePopLength2 58LabelOde 103 US Columbia 2757 UK amp Canada Songwriter s John Phillips 1 Producer s Lou Adler John Phillips 1 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 Contents 1 Composition 2 Reception 3 Personnel 4 Chart history 4 1 Weekly charts 4 2 Year end charts 5 Johnny Hallyday version 5 1 Track listings 5 2 Charts 6 Other Covers 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksComposition EditAccording 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 which tells the listeners If you re going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair 3 is credited with bringing thousands of young people to San Francisco California during the late 1960s citation needed 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 8 Reception EditReleased 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 9 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 10 The single is said to have sold over seven million copies worldwide 11 In Central Europe young people adopted San Francisco as an anthem leading the song to be widely played during Czechoslovakia s 1968 Prague Spring uprising 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 12 13 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 14 A cover by Michael Marshall appears in the 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco 15 Personnel EditScott McKenzie double tracked vocals acoustic guitar John Phillips acoustic guitar lead guitar sitar production Joe Osborn bass guitar Gary L Coleman orchestral bells and chimes Hal Blaine drums percussionChart history EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1967 PeakpositionAustralia Go Set 16 2Austria O3 Austria Top 40 17 1Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 18 1Belgium Ultratop 50 Wallonia 19 1Canada Top Singles RPM 20 2Ireland IRMA 21 1Netherlands Single Top 100 22 1Finland Finnish Singles Chart 23 1France SNEP 24 93Germany Official German Charts 25 1New Zealand Listener 26 1Norway VG lista 27 1Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 28 8UK Singles OCC 29 1US Billboard Hot 100 30 4US Cash Box Top 100 31 4 Year end charts Edit Chart 1967 RankAustralia 13Canada 32 34U S Billboard Hot 100 33 48U S Cash Box 34 71Johnny Hallyday version Edit San Francisco Single by Johnny Hallydayfrom the album Johnny au Palais des sportsReleased1967 1967 LabelPhilipsSongwriter s John Phillips Georges Aber French adaptation 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 35 Track listings Edit 7 single Philips B 370 454 F 1967 San Francisco 3 10 Mon fils 4 00 35 7 EP Philips 437 380 BE 1967 A1 San Francisco 3 10 A2 Fleurs d amour et d amitie 2 39 B1 Mon fils 3 58 B2 Psychedelic 3 20 35 Charts Edit San Francisco Mon fils 35 36 Chart 1967 68 PeakpositionBelgium Ultratop 50 Wallonia 35 5Other Covers EditBritish band Psykick Holiday did a cover of San Francisco in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of peace amp Love amp the song It was a double A single with Lets go to San Francisco being the other track The band also did a summer of love EP featuring French amp Spanish version of the two songs In 2020 amp 2022 the English tracks came out under main vocalist with the above band Vanessa White Smith on the Compilations Femme Fatales of music Vol 1 amp 2 All releases were on Future Legend Records and out on Itunes etc See also Edit1967 in music Best selling singles worldwide Counterculture of the 1960s Summer of LoveReferences EditNotes a b c 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 San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair Scott McKenzie Song Info AllMusic via www allmusic com a b 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 Davis Clive February 19 2013 8 Monterey Pop The Soundtrack of My Life New York City Simon amp Schuster pp 62 64 ISBN 9781476714790 Ingles Paul June 15 2017 A Look Back At Monterey Pop 50 Years Later National Public Radio NPR Retrieved November 18 2018 John Phillips interviewed on the Pop Chronicles 1969 San Francisco Chords by Scott McKenzie ultimate guitar com San Francisco Discogs com Retrieved 28 August 2019 Whitburn Joel 2004 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits Eighth Edition Record Research p 415 Ode amp Capitol In A Hassle McK in Middle Billboard July 22 1967 p 3 Retrieved November 18 2018 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 Kezar Stadium June 2 1973 Led Zeppelin Official Website Retrieved January 26 2020 Rey 1997 p 253 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 How The Last Black Man in San Francisco Soundtrack Reshapes the City s Hippie Nostalgia Pitchfork com June 17 2019 Go Set Australian charts 26 July 1967 Poparchives com au Archived from the original on August 23 2019 Retrieved August 8 2018 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair in German O3 Austria Top 40 Retrieved October 28 2017 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved October 28 2017 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair in French Ultratop 50 Retrieved October 28 2017 Top RPM Singles Issue 10081 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved January 1 2021 The Irish Charts Search Results San Francisco Irish Singles Chart Retrieved August 26 2019 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved October 28 2017 Sisaltaa hitin Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960 Artistit MAU MEM August 12 2015 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair in French Les classement single Retrieved October 28 2017 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved October 28 2017 flavour of new zealand search listener Flavourofnz co nz Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair VG lista Retrieved October 28 2017 Scott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair Swiss Singles Chart Retrieved October 28 2017 Scott McKenzie Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Scott McKenzie Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Cash Box Top 100 Singles July 22 1967 Tropicalglen com RPM Top 100 Singles of 1967 Collectionscanada gc ca Top 100 Hits of 1967 Top 100 Songs of 1967 Musicoutfitters com Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 23 1967 Tropicalglen com a b c d e Johnny Hallyday San Francisco in French Ultratop 50 Johnny Hallyday Mon fils Ultratop be Retrieved December 6 2017 Bibliography Guinness Book of British Hit Singles 19th Edition ISBN 1 904994 10 5 The Book of Golden Discs 2nd Edition ISBN 0 214 20512 6 Rey Luis 1997 Led Zeppelin Live An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes The Hot Wacks Press ISBN 978 0969808077 External links EditScott McKenzie San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title San Francisco Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair amp oldid 1127564514, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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