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 | |
| from the album The Voice of Scott McKenzie | |
| B-side | “What’s the Difference” |
| Released | May 13, 1967 |
| Recorded | 1966 |
| Genre | Pop psychedelic pop |
| Length | 2:58 |
| Label | Ode 103 (US) Columbia 2757 (UK & Canada) |
| Songwriter(s) | John Phillips |
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler John Phillips |
| 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) | |
“San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” is an American pop song, written by John Phillips, and sung by Scott McKenzie. 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.
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
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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).” Phillips reported writing the song in about 20 minutes.
The song is credited with bringing thousands of young people to San Francisco during the late 1960s.
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'”.
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. Meanwhile, the song rose to number one in the UK Singles Chart, 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.” The single is said to have sold over seven million copies worldwide.
The song has been featured in several films, including Frantic (1988), The Rock (1996) and Forrest Gump (1994). 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 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. A cover by Michael Marshall appears in the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019).
Personnel
- Scott 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, percussion
Chart history
Weekly charts
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set) | 2 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) | 1 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 2 |
| Finland (Finnish Singles Chart) | 1 |
| France (SNEP) | 93 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) | 1 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 1 |
| New Zealand (Listener) | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 1 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) | 8 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 4 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1967) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia | 13 |
| Canada | 34 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 48 |
| U.S. Cash Box | 71 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Covers
- Dave Monk
- Eric
- Otto Nilse
- Lee Ra Hee
- 黃鶯鶯 Tracy Huang
Johnny Hallyday version
| “San Francisco” | |
|---|---|
| |
| Single by Johnny Hallyday | |
| from the album Johnny au Palais des sports | |
| Language | French |
| B-side | “Mon fils” |
| Released | October 20, 1967 |
| Recorded | Summer–fall 1967 |
| Genre | Pop, psychedelic pop |
| Length | 3:55 |
| Label | Philips |
| Songwriter(s) | John Phillips Georges Aber (French adaptation) |
| Producer(s) | Lee Hallyday |
| 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, the song was released in October 1967.
Track listings
7-inch single Philips B 370.454 F (1967)
- “San Francisco” (3:10)
- “Mon fils” (4:00)
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)
Charts
“San Francisco” / “Mon fils”
| Chart (1967–68) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) | 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 by Led Zeppelin, which the band is often compared to in terms of style and influences.
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