Scott McKenzie, who soared to fame and will be best remembered for his song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" died at the age of 73 in Los Angeles on Saturday, according to reports.
Scott McKenzie, whose song "San Francisco" became a somewhat city anthem for the hippies in the summer of 1967, had been suffering since 2010 from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disease that affects the nervous system, according to the Associated Press. He had been in and out of the hospital, and his website said he suffered an apparent heart attack earlier this month, but had gotten himself checked out from the hospital so he could be at home with his family in his final days.
McKenzie was a close friend of Mamas and Papas star John Phillips, who wrote and produced the "San Francisco" track. The song was released in May 1967 and quickly became a global hit and an anthem for the 1960s "flower power" counterculture movement.
Born Philip Wallach Blondheim in January 1939, the singer, songwriter and guitarist grew up in North Carolina where he lived with his grandparents while his widowed mother worked in Washington DC.
In his early career, McKenzie found fame with doo-wop band The Abstracts, which became The Smoothies. They later formed The Journeymen with John Phillips and Dick Weissman. The Journeymen disbanded n the 1960s and McKenzie declined an offer from Phillips to join his new group -- The Mamas and the Papas. The two remained close friends none the less. McKenzie later joined a new version of The Mamas and the Papas in the 1980s.
San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) was McKenzie's only significant hit. He went on to co-write the Beach Boys hit song "Kokomo" in 1988 with Phillips and Terry Melcher.
