You know the catchy lyrics: “Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo.” Three decades later and people are still wondering where Kokomo is, because there is no Kokomo in Florida. Using social media, tourists and fans of the song mark the spots that look and feel like the alluring destination, but you won’t find Kokomo on a Florida map. The 1988 hit song still brings "good vibrations," and visitors to Florida still inquire about the song and its inspiration. It’s still heard on the radio and at karaoke bars and has become a permanent part of people’s vacation playlists. In its heyday, the Holiday Isle Resort had a poolside bar called Kokomo. A sign at the bar plotted the distance to all the places referenced in the song: Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Key Largo and Montego. In response to the song, the Casa Marina Resort in Key West renamed their beach “Kokomo Beach." Mike Love, lead vocalist for the Beach Boys, finally revealed how the “place called Kokomo” came to be. “Kokomo was a name that originated with John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. He wrote the melody and the verse and I wrote the chorus.” Although Phillips pictured Kokomo as a place off the Florida Keys, he didn't actually name it after a place that existed. There’s a Kokomo Charters in Sarasota, a city named Kokomo in Indiana, a Kokomo in the Fiji Islands, and a community named Kokomo in Hawaii. Kokomo in Florida will have to remain in the imaginations of all the listeners who love the Beach Boys song “Kokomo.”
Where is “Kokomo” from the Beach Boys Song?
You know the catchy lyrics: “Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo.” Three decades later and people are still wondering where Kokomo is, because there is no Kokomo in Florida. Using social media, tourists and fans of the song mark the spots that look and feel like the alluring destination, but you won’t find Kokomo on a Florida map. The 1988 hit song still brings "good vibrations," and visitors to Florida still inquire about the song and its inspiration. It’s still heard on the radio and at karaoke bars and has become a permanent part of people’s vacation playlists. In its heyday, the Holiday Isle Resort had a poolside bar called Kokomo. A sign at the bar plotted the distance to all the places referenced in the song: Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Key Largo and Montego. In response to the song, the Casa Marina Resort in Key West renamed their beach “Kokomo Beach." Mike Love, lead vocalist for the Beach Boys, finally revealed how the “place called Kokomo” came to be. “Kokomo was a name that originated with John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. He wrote the melody and the verse and I wrote the chorus.” Although Phillips pictured Kokomo as a place off the Florida Keys, he didn't actually name it after a place that existed. There’s a Kokomo Charters in Sarasota, a city named Kokomo in Indiana, a Kokomo in the Fiji Islands, and a community named Kokomo in Hawaii. Kokomo in Florida will have to remain in the imaginations of all the listeners who love the Beach Boys song “Kokomo.”