Confess, you dog! I know of one guilty pleasure you hide in
the
deepest part of your right brain: Every time you hear that song, it
transports you to that particular summer.
I was a lad, all of 13. My dad was attempting to euhemerize
the
“flower power” movement. He loved to carp about anything. The
hippie
was no rapprochement to the so-called “Greatest Generation”--Nope!
To
him, the whole hippie trip was an excuse to be a bum. He repeated
jokes that had been told by our illustrious California governor,
Ronald Regan. When he told those non-funny jokes, I had to do method
acting and pretend to laugh. I didn’t give a loving shit about
“flower power!” Not at the time. The knavery of the news media was
eating it up and puking it out to the general public. So, what else
is new?
The radio and the record industry jumped on the “flower
power”
bandwagon. The local L.A. radio powerhouse, 93 KHJ, was promoting
various campaigns using the “flower power” movement. They sponsored
some cat named Johnny Apple Seed, walking barefoot across the
country. Then came novelty songs. Marcia Strassman, who later was
to
be a character actress on the sit-com, “Welcome Back Kotter,” was a
singer. She released this histrionic song called, “The Flower
Children.” It was a pop folk whining about how the “flower children”
were misunderstood. Sky Saxon, along with his Seeds, released a
goofy
song on the flip side of their 45, “A Thousand Shadows” (which
sounded
like, “You’re Pushing Too Hard). It was “March of the Flower
Children,” one of the worse songs they ever did. It included a sound
effect like a bullwhip, which to this day, I don’t know why. In
England, a Beach Boy rip-off, vocal band, the Flowerpot Men, released
a song called, “Let’s Go to San Francisco.” The only cool song that
was devoted to San Francisco was Eric Burdon & the Animals’ release,
“San Franciscan Nights.” Nice guitar phrasing. John Philips of the
Mamas and the Papas wrote an anthem called, “If You’re Going to San
Francisco, Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair.” He gave it to
Scott
McKenzie, who was a buddy of his. Now, McKenzie was a serious folk
singer. He produced euphonious vocals like those of Tim Buckley or
Phil Oaks. Little did he know that the song would ruin his career,
but would be loved by millions of fans! He would be condemned via
that dreaded label, “a one-hit wonder!” His follow-up release turned
out to be better than that anthem: the operatic song, “Like An Old
Time Movie,” was a poignant masterpiece. If he couldn’t top San
Francisco with that great song, he was doomed. He faded into
obscurity like many before him.
In 1967, I was driving through the mountains with my dad. The
only
radio station we could get was this top 40 station. That song came
on
the radio. My dad was mocking it mercilessly! When it came to the
bridge with the lyric, “There’s a whole generation, with a new
explanation! Ooo, ooo, people in motion.” My dad would yell at the
radio, “What is the explanation? Why do you refuse to work or take a
bath?” I didn’t understand what was his bitch!
Along with Love’s “Forever Changes” and the Beatles’
“Sergeant
Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”—plus, Jefferson Airplane’s album,
“Surrealistic Pillow”—that song captured the sound of ‘67!
It’s a shame that Scott McKenzie had only a cult following.
Oh? Did
you know that he co-wrote the Beach Boys’ song from 1988, “Ko–Ko-Mo?”
Good-bye, Scott.
--
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