Let's Go to San Francisco

"Let's Go to San Francisco" is the only UK-charting single by the British pop group The Flower Pot Men. The song was written and produced by John Carter and Ken Lewis, engineered by John Mackswith and released in 1967 on 7" single format.[1] Lead vocals were by Tony Burrows, who later did vocals for groups like Edison Lighthouse, First Class, White Plains, and The Brotherhood of Man. It is regarded as a work of the 1960s California Sound.[2]

"Let's Go to San Francisco"
CD compilation titled after the song
Single by The Flower Pot Men
A-side"Let's Go to San Francisco (Part 1)"
B-side"Let's Go to San Francisco (Part 2)"
Released4 August 1967
Format7" single
GenrePsychedelic pop
Length3:16 (Part 1)
2:40 (Part 2)
LabelDeram
Songwriter(s)John Carter and Ken Lewis
Producer(s)John Carter and Ken Lewis
The Flower Pot Men singles chronology
"Let's Go to San Francisco"
(1967)		 "A Walk in the Sky"
(1967)

Reception

The song was a Top 10 hit single in a number of countries. It peaked at No. 12 in New Zealand,[3] No. 9 in Norway,[4] No. 8 in Ireland and No. 4 in the United Kingdom.[5]

A light-hearted pastiche of the work of Brian Wilson, the song achieved a similar musical level and has remained popular. The song could be mistaken for a Beach Boys single.[6][7]

Compilation album usage

The song has since appeared on many "Best of the 60s" compilation albums since its release, such as the 1997 Polygram TV release The First Summer Of Love: SIXTIES.[8]

Italian covers

There were two different versions with different texts written in Italian: the most famous was "Inno", performed by the Milanese band Dik Dik. There was also "Trovare un mondo" ("To find a world"), sung by a little-known artist, Mimmo Diamante, and published by ARC, a subsidiary label of RCA Italiana.

References
  1. "The Flower Pot Men* - Let's Go To San Francisco (Parts 1 & 2)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  2. "The California Sound of the 60's". Allmusic.
  3. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  4. Hung, Steffen. "australian-charts.com - The Flower Pot Men - Let's Go To San Francisco". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 206. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. "Though they were extremely derivative of the then-au courant West Coast sound (especially the post-surf Beach Boys), the group managed to come up with some worthwhile tracks[.]" Michael Ribas, All Music Guide, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  7. The song has been called a "Pet Sounds-influenced [...] track". Michael Ribas, All Music Guide, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  8. "Shazam". Shazam.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
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