"Kokomo" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from the 1988 film Cocktail and album Still Cruisin'. Written by John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Mike Love, and Terry Melcher, the song was released as a single on June 21, 1988 by Elektra Records and became a number one hit in the U.S. and Australia. It was the band's first original Top 20 single in 20 years, their first #1 hit in 22 years, and to date, their final Top 40 hit. The lyrics describe two lovers taking a trip to a relaxing place on Kokomo, a utopic island off the Florida Keys. In addition to the fictional Kokomo, the song also makes references to many real Caribbean islands, including Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Martinique, and Montserrat. Background The verse of the song came from a demo by John Phillips (formerly of the Mamas & the Papas) and Scott McKenzie (best known for his 1967 song “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)," which Phillips wrote). The Beach Boys' Mike Love added the chorus which lists the names of islands. Recording "Kokomo" was recorded on March 22 and April 5–6, 1988 with production by Terry Melcher, who had previously produced the band's "Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" (1986) and "California Dreamin'" (1986). It was created through overdubbing parts onto the band's demo for the song. The recording featured every current member of the group except Brian Wilson, who did not attend the sessions. In his 1991 memoir Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story, it was stated that Wilson was unable to contribute to the song because he was committed to recording his first solo album, and his bandmates deliberately did not inform him of the session date until it was too late. According to biographer Mark Dillon, "Available session-date information does not substantiate this claim, however." Mike Love stated that Wilson was not on "Kokomo" because Eugene Landy, Wilson's therapist-turned-collaborator, refused to "let Brian sing on it unless Landy was a producer and co-writer" and Melcher did not "feel he needed Landy since he had produced some number-one records. It was pathetic of Landy to do that, but he controlled Brian completely at that time." According to a 2018 article in Stereogum, "When [Brian] first heard the song on the radio, he didn’t even recognize it as a Beach Boys tune." The group