14 Years Ago Today, We Lost the Singer Who Soundtracked the Summer of Love and Helped Write a Beach Boys No. 1 Hit

Scott McKenzie, the singer behind the 1967 anthem "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)", died on 18 August 2012, 14 years before this article's publication. The song became the unofficial soundtrack to the Summer of Love, the countercultural movement that drew thousands of young people to California, yet McKenzie himself is often overlooked in discussions of that era despite his significant contribution to its identity.

Born on 10 January 1939 in Jacksonville, Florida, McKenzie formed early musical partnerships with future Mamas & the Papas member John Phillips, including the groups The Abstracts and The Smoothies. Phillips wrote "San Francisco" for McKenzie, who recorded it; the track reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts internationally in May 1967. McKenzie later rejoined The Mamas & the Papas for touring in the 1980s before retiring in 1998, and co-wrote the Beach Boys' No. 1 hit "Kokomo". He died in Los Angeles aged 73 after suffering from Guillain–Barré syndrome.