There is one song, more so than any other one I can think of, that takes me back to the summer of 1967. Those of us who did not live in California were hearing about the summer of love and the hippies. Even on the outskirts of the real action -- we were not having love-ins up here -- we saw tie-dyed shirts and psychedelic hippie art.
The center of the universe, for pop culture, was Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. Many of the top acts of the psychedelic-rock era hailed from, or formed in, the bay area -- Jefferson Airplane, Mamas and the Papas, Country Joe and the Fish, Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company. But, up here in Washington, on what I remember to be a warm and glorious summer in 1967, one song told the hippie story better than all others. It was written, in about 20 minutes, by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas and it was recorded by one of Phillip's friends who was a true believer in the movement. A lesser known fact is that Phillips wrote it, at the friend's request or suggestion, to promote the Monterey Pop Festival. This is a record that got airplay in America and overseas. It made it all the way to #4 in the USA. Over in England, get this, the record was a #1 hit. They liked this very American song better than we did!
To be transported back to the summer of 1967, to see the original artist perform his original hit, I am afraid that you are going to have to change channels by clicking on the TV. But don't sweat it, you can catch up with Ben Cartwright and the trials and tribulations taking place at the Bonanza ranch next time around.
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