Scott McKenzie, whose 1967 classic single ‘San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)‘ became one of the defining anthems of the era’s influential Flower Power movement, has died at the age of 73.
The BBC reports the singer was found by a neighbour in his home on Sunday afternoon (August 19th), with his passing later being confirmed by another neighbour, Victoria Byers, who is quoted as revealing McKenzie had recently been paying visits to hospital after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disease affecting the nervous system.
“I think he had a heart attack this most recent time,” she has said. “He was in the hospital. They did not want him to leave the hospital, but he wanted to be in his house.”
‘San Francisco…’, which was released in the May of 1967 and hit number one in the UK, was written for McKenzie by his close friend and Mamas and The Papas member John Phillips.