In the lightning-fast, penny-pinching world of the music industry, getting more bang for your buck is an opportunity most producers wouldn\u2019t want to miss\u2014at least, that was certainly the case for the classic 1960s flower power track that was released as a half-single, half-built-in promotion for a popular music festival that was happening later that summer.<\/p>\n
With No. 1 chart placements in the U.K., Austria, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, and Norway; a noteworthy No. 4 placement in the U.S; and tens of thousands of attendees at the festival, we\u2019d say the one-two punch did the trick.<\/p>\n
This Classic 1960s Track <\/strong>Promoted Popular Festival Later That Year<\/p>\n The latter half of the 1960s was ushering in a new social movement, the likes of which the States had never seen before. Young folks were writing off the establishment and pursuing a life that centered around love, peace, and, sure, more than likely a healthy dose of psychedelic drugs. Music was a reflection of that movement, giving way to psych rockers like Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. By 1967, the Summer of Love was in full swing. Events like the Monterey International Pop Festival helped define<\/a> this creative period.<\/p>\n Several months before the Monterey International Pop Festival would take place, John Phillips (of the Mamas & the Papas fame) and Lou Adler were working together in the studio to produce the song \u201cSan Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).\u201d New label signee Scott McKenzie would be the lead performer. \u201cIt was, in many ways, a perfect Lou Adler production,\u201d colleague Clive Davis recalled in his memoir, The Soundtrack Of My Life<\/a>. Davis argued that the musicality was undoubtedly evocative of Adler. But it was the dual business move that offered the strongest signature.<\/p>\n \u201cIn another perfect Lou Adler touch, \u201cSan Francisco\u201d wasn\u2019t simply a sensational song written for the first artist to record for his new label,\u201d Davis continued. \u201cIt was a three-minute advertisement for a current venture of his. Both Adler and Phillips were among the producers of the Monterey International Pop Festival. The Mamas and the Papas would be performing, along with, needless to say, Scott McKenzie. \u201cSan Francisco,\u201d<\/a> then, was not only a great song but a brilliant marketing and promotion move.\u201d<\/p>\n The Musical Content Wasn\u2019t Half Bad, Either<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether or not the general public was aware of what was happening, John Phillips and Lou Adler hit a stroke of genius when they decided to release the whimsical song about journeying to the West Coast just before one of the biggest musical attractions of the year. Folks from all across the country tuned in to the radio to hear Scott McKenzie\u2019s 1960s classic, \u201cSan Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers In Your Hair).\u201d Then, they heard the news of a star-studded festival happening just two hours south of the coastal city full of gentle people with flowers in their hair. Who wouldn\u2019t want to go?<\/p>\n