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Sad news indeed, Mandryka.
San Francisco was part of my teenage soundtrack - naive optimistic stuff
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Sorry - I hadn't spotted this thread. Perhaps mine can be merged into yours, or ignored.
As you'll see from my belated posting, he featured on 'AA' recently.
(Reason to be cheerful: Johnnie Walker is playing The Doors' 'LA Woman')Comment
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Johnnie Walker was part of the soundtrack to my teenage years too when he was on Radio Caroline SouthOriginally posted by Northender View PostSorry - I hadn't spotted this thread. Perhaps mine can be merged into yours, or ignored.
As you'll see from my belated posting, he featured on 'AA' recently.
(Reason to be cheerful: Johnnie Walker is playing The Doors' 'LA Woman')
Anyone else remember The Kiss in the Car Club?
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No, but I remember The Under the Bedclothes Club from another radio station further south.Originally posted by amateur51 View PostJohnnie Walker was part of the soundtrack to my teenage years too when he was on Radio Caroline South
Anyone else remember The Kiss in the Car Club?
And of course I remember San Francisco. There's nothing wrong with naive optimism when you're 16.Comment
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Sad news. He was never a major player and 'San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers in Your Hair)' was overplayed. Nevertheless it was a pretty song, immediately recognisable as soon as it was on the radio, and it was one of very many songs that almost had to be written. There were a number of concepts in the West Coast phenomenon. Sometimes they were presented by middle-of-the-road artists and more often by those far nearer to rock. This was surely pure pop, guaranteed to be bought by the masses.
One of the concepts was hope. His path crossed with that of Cass Elliot. Some might 'assess' her voice for technical limitations or depict her solo songs as confections. There is no one in the history of pop music quite like Mama Cass. She encapsulated positivity without resorting to hysteria. The sweetness of her voice, far from being cloying, was extraordinarily crystal clear. Later the flowers moved to Woodstock on the East Side and the main concept became freedom. It was a brief affair. One member of America may have been born in Florida and another in Britain but Ventura, California was the highway on which they drove.
It was around that time - the early 1970s - that McKenzie stopped recording. The dream was over then, not that it had ever been tangible. He returned twice, in 1986 and 1998, with a reformed version of the Mamas and the Papas. Cass Elliot had died in 1974. Inevitably it was a nostalgia trip. They were seriously out-of-step with current trends. In many ways, we never got to know him. He was, in essence, a one hit wonder. The record though will always be a reminder of a special place and time.Last edited by Guest; 19-08-12, 21:34.Comment
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We were 19. San Francisco was perhaps not a great song but it summed up its time and I still like to hear it from time to time. I remember a more down-to-earth friend of mine ridiculing the line: "There's a whole generation with a new explanation". By 1968 the 60s dream was already somehow turning a bit sour - student riots, Russian tanks, Beatles' break-up starting, people freaking out, the end of the anarchy of Wonderful Radio London and Auntie Beeb taking over with Radio One.Comment
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No More Flowers in Your Hair...
Scott McKenzie, singer of flower power pop, dies aged 73
Be sure to wear flowers in your hair… Was it really 45 years ago….?
RIPComment
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I didn't go to San Francisco or wear flowers in my hair but did have a decent collection of floral ties, a couple of which I still posses (and occasionally wear)
There was a thread on Scott M yesterday - http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...ighlight=scott
[Ed: threads merged - ff]Comment
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