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Scott McKenzie, singer of ‘San Francisco,’ dies [VIDEO]

taylorbigler Contributor
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scott McKenzie, the singer who performed ‘‘San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair),’’ which became a hit in 1967 during the city’s ‘‘Summer of Love,’’ has died. He was 73.

A statement on McKenzie’s website says he died on Saturday in Los Angeles. McKenzie battled Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disease that affects the nervous system, and had been in and out of the hospital since 2010.

‘‘San Francisco’’ was written by John Phillips, the leader of the 1960s group The Mamas and the Papas. But McKenzie sang it and it has stood as an anthem for the 1960s counterculture movement.

McKenzie also co-wrote ‘‘Kokomo,’’ a No. 1 hit for The Beach Boys in 1988, and toured with The Mamas and the Papas in the 1990s.

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