They say: “If you remember it, you probably weren’t there.” Thousands of us remember the effect the Summer of Love had on the world. In the summer of 1967, young people from all over the world heard the call and converged on San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district–no doubt encouraged by Scott McKenzie’s hit record “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).” The song was written by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas to promote the Monterey Pop Festival, that he was helping to organize, and to popularize the flower children of San Francisco.
Media reporting of the “counterculture” included other California events, such as the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival in Marin County, which were also held during June of 1967. However, the Monterey Pop Festival was widely promoted and heavily attended, featuring historic performances that were documented in a popular theatrical film, and it became an inspiration for future music festivals, including the Woodstock Festival in 1969.
Beginning this Saturday at 10am—and continuing all weekend— 97.7 The River will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love with blocks of songs every hour dedicated to everyone who believed in a revolution of compassion, awareness, and love. We’ll also include live recordings from the Monterey Pop Festival that year, featuring artists like Jimi Hendrix and The Who, who made their first major American appearances at the Festival.
A “Summer of Love Weekend” on the River—and you didn’t have to be there to enjoy the music that came out of that memorable era!
Listen in all weekend long!
