Scott McKenzie

 Scott McKenzie, born Philip Wallach Blondheim III (January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012)

He was best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". He grew up in North Carolina and Virginia, where he became friends with John Phillips, the son of one of his mother's friends. In the mid-1950s, he sang briefly with Tim Rose in a high school group called The Singing Strings, and later, with Phillips, Mike Boran, and Bill Cleary, he formed a doo wop band, The Abstracts. In 1961 Phillips and McKenzie met Dick Weissman and formed the folk group, The Journeymen, at the height of the folk music craze. They recorded three albums and seven singles for Capitol Records. After The Beatles became popular in 1964, The Journeymen disbanded. McKenzie and Weissman became solo performers, while Phillips formed the group The Mamas & the Papas with Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips and moved to California. Phillips wrote and co-produced "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" for McKenzie. John Phillips played guitar on the recording and session musician Gary L Coleman played orchestra bells and chimes. The bass line of the song was supplied by session musician Joe Osborn. Hal Blaine played drums. It was released on May 13, 1967 in the United States and was an instant hit. McKenzie followed the song with "Like An Old Time Movie", which Phillips also wrote, composed, and produced, but which was a minor hit. In his own right, McKenzie likewise wrote and composed the song "What About Me" that launched the career of Canadian singer Anne Murray in 1968.

In 1986, he started singing with a new version of The Mamas and the Papas. With Terry Melcher, Mike Love, and John Phillips, he co-wrote "Kokomo" (1988), a number 1 single for The Beach Boys. McKenzie was retired by 1998, and spent most of his time in Los Angeles. He died on August 18, 2012, at the age of 73, in Los Angeles. He had suffered from Guillain–Barré syndrome from 2010 until his death.