The "So Where Is Kokomo?" Story

Names are under the photo.  Click to enlarge.

It was an ordinary day.  Listening to one of my wife CDs that features songs of the Beach Boys.  Songs such as Wouldn't It Be Nice, Don't Worry Baby, Barbara Ann, God Only Knows, California Girls, Surfin' U.S.A., 409, Help Me Rhonda, In My Room, and one of my favorites...Kokomo.  Over the years the Beach Boys recorded and performed 214 songs and I think I heard every one of them.  Naturally, just like other artists, I enjoy certain songs better than others, but that's why they make so many in hopes of selling more hit songs.  Most had a reason for being written, but Kokomo makes mention of many tropical locations in the song, but the title doesn't tell of any one location in particular.  Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Key Largo, Montego, Martinique and Montserrat are all mentioned, many times over, but not one time does the song tell you where Kokomo might be.  

One of the covers that carried the record.

There is a Kokomo in the state of Indiana and one in the state of Mississippi, but who wants to spend a day at the beach in one of those cities.  There actually used to be a Kokomo Island in the Caribbean, but it was named that by the Sandals/Royal Caribbean Resort/Cruise line company.  And...they actually named it after the song!  That island now goes by the name of "Sandals Cay."  As I read more I found that the band's inspiration for the song was a pool-side bar at a hotel in Islamorada, one of the little island towns in the Florida Keys. The song was written by Terry Melcher with the help of John Phillips, who was a former member of The Mamas And The Papas, along with Beach Boy Mike Love and Scott McKenzie, who had a hit in 1967 with "San Francisco."  John Phillips daughter Chynna was in the group Wilson Phillips with Brian Wilson's daughters, Carnie and Wendy.  Mike Love came up with the chorus part: "Aruba, Jamaica, ooo I want to take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on, pretty mama.  Key Largo, Montego....."  John Phillips wrote the verse while Terry Melcher wrote the bridge, where it goes, "Ooo, I want to take you down to Kokomo, we'll get there fast and we can take it slow..."  When you hear many of the songs from the 60s and 70s from a variety of singers or groups, you don't realize just how much goes in to the producing of the song before it is sung.  As I did some research on some of the Beach Boys songs I came across so many names that I will never remember, yet they may have won an award for what they did with a particular song.  The Kokomo single was first released in July of 1988 and peaked at the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 5, 1988 and was the first #1 hit by the Beach Boys since 1966 when Good Vibrations made it to #1.  That marked the longest time span between two number-one hits in America for any band in 22 years.  It was also their only #1 hit not written by or produced by Brian Wilson.  And, with all this research I still have no idea where to find Kokomo.  I did put together ten photos which I have taken over the years that could have been taken in Kokomo, had there been a place such as that.  Check out the photos and see if any look like Kokomo to you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

My wife's favorite photograph that reminds her of
a place in the Caribbean that could be called Kokomo.
It was taken at Carlisle Bay, Barbados

Her second choice was this photo taken at Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

And...her third place photo which was also taken at Grace Bay Beach.

Crane Beach on Barbados.

Bottom Bay Beach in Barbados.  This is perhaps my favorite Caribbean beach site.

Long Bay Beach in Tortola.

Shoal Bay East Beach on Anguilla.

This was also taken on Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos.

Pinel Island off the coast of St. Martin's Orient Bay Beach.

And, one more photograph from Grace Bay Beach.