The prompt from Jim:
Atoll, Island, Key, Lagoon, Peninsula, Reef, Tropical suggested by Tales from the mind of Kristian
If you want music that makes you think of summers on the beach, I think the goto band has to be The Beach Boys. At least for me and many in my generation.
”Kokomo” was written in 1988 by by John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Mike Love, and producer Terry Melcher (son of Doris Day) and recorded by The Beach Boys in 1988 for the movie “Cocktail”.
Kokomo was a fictional place off the Florida Keys. Later, after the success of the song, there was a small island dubbed Kokomo Island but it was a resort island and was later renamed Sandals Cay.
The song is about two people who escape to an island paradise for a life in the sun. The movie is a rom-com about a man (Tom Cruise) who leaves his pursuit for a business career and opts for running a popular chain of bars. Of course there is a love triangle and eventual happy ending like all rom-coms.
An interesting side story about Terry Melcher. Beach Boy co-founder and and drummer Dennis Wilson happened into a relationship with a man who wanted to become the next big name in music. This man was Charles Manson. Terry Melcher was dating Candice Bergen and living at the house at 10050 Cielo Drive. He became so paranoid of Manson after he rejected working with Manson, he moved from the house and it was later leased to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. Sadly, this was the gruesome scene where five people were murdered. I read that Melcher was paranoid that he may have been I intended target of the murderous rampage.
The Beach Boys did buy and record one of the songs Manson wrote, although the song was revised and renamed which incensed Manson.
“Kokomo” has been used in several films and television shows. I included a couple of clips below. In the first clip, you can see John Stamos who has often played drums with the band during live performances. (The video was recorded in Orlando, Florida at Disney’s Grand Floridian.)
“Kokomo”
Lyrics from songfacts.com
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go, Jamaica
Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo
That’s where you want to go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand
We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go
oh I want to take you down to
Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we want to go, way down in Kokomo
Martinique, that Montserrat mystique
We’ll put out to sea and we’ll perfect our chemistry
And by and by we’ll defy a little bit of gravity
Afternoon delight, cocktails and moonlit nights
That dreamy look in your eye, give me a tropical contact high
Way down in Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go
oh I want to take you down to
Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we want to go, way down in Kokomo
Port au Prince, I want to catch a glimpse
Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo
Now if you want to go and get away from it all
Go down to Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go
oh I want to take you down to
Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we want to go, way down in Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go
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Song Lyric Sunday is hosted every Sunday by Jim Adams. If you would like to join in the fun, check out his blog for the rules and to take in all the other music posted by other blogg
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