Scott McKenzie died yesterday at age 73. My central 1980s memory of this song is of a colorful hardcore politico of the 1960s ironically claiming it to be his favorite song and then being befuddled that, due to our late– more punk than boomer– births, we failed to grasp the irony. And in those days there was no intellectual failure so egregious as the inability to detect sarcasm. Still, this is a catchy tune and a perfect timepiece. The Monterey Pop footage is excellent and even the band rises to the occasion by adding some edge and drama to the back end of the tune. The lyrics repeat the phrase, “the streets of San Francisco.” Was this tune behind the idea for at least the title of the early 70s television show, The Streets of San Francisco, which starred Karl Malden?
