Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1941) is an American composer, arranger, producer, and musician, noted for his collaborations with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys on the song "Heroes and Villains" and the until September 2004 unreleased cult-classic-album, Smile.

As a child Parks acted in the 1956 movie The Swan which starred Grace Kelly. Early on, Parks also played in the folk group, "The Greenwood County Singers" with his brother, Carson Parks.

Parks then worked as a studio musician and songwriter for Warner Brothers, writing hits for many artists such as Harper's Bizarre ("High Coin"); he became known for clever lyrical wordplay and sharp imagery.

In 1966 Parks was commissioned by Brian Wilson to write lyrics for the ambitious, ill-fated Smile project. Parks and Wilson wrote several songs for the album, but after a falling out with the rest of the Beach Boys and in the midst of Wilson's breakdown, Parks left the project, which was abandoned soon afterwards. Several Wilson/Parks songs from the Smile sessions later appeared on the Beach Boys' replacement album Smiley Smile, including "Heroes and Villains" and "Wind Chimes", a versions of several more, including Cabinessence and Surf's Up, were compiled by Carl Wilson and included on subsequent LPs.

In 1968, Parks released his first solo project, the critically-acclaimed album, Song Cycle. Song Cycle was a head trip of orchestral textures and traditional Americana-meets-psychedelic pop song structures. Song Cycle established Parks' signature approach of mining and updating old American musical traditions, including ragtime and New Orleans-style jazz with literate, playful lyrics and is also notable for the inclusion of a song by Randy Newman. Although praised by critics, the album sold extremely poorly.

Four years later, his many travels to the West Indies inspired his second album, Discover America. Discover America was, among other things, a rich tribute to the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago and the native Calypso music. Van Dyke Parks was clearly at home re-arranging and re-producing many obscure songs and calypso classics. The laid-back tropical feel of the songs and procution made Discover America a fan favorite.

Van Dyke Parks' 1984 album Jump featured songs centered around the tales of Uncle Remus. Jump solidified Parks' reputation as a pop songwriter with some childlike tendencies. Production on the album was slick and the sound was focused and cohesive.

In 1995 Van Dyke teamed up again with Brian Wilson, this time to create the album Orange Crate Art. Parks wrote all of the songs on the album and the vocals were done by Brian Wilson. Orange Crate Art is a beautifully harmonic tribute to the Southern California of the early 1900s. The songs are rich and beautifully orchestrated.

Parks has produced, done string arrangements or played on albums by artists includingU2, Randy Newman, The Byrds, Cher, Rufus Wainwright, Sam Phillips, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, silverchair, Carly Simon, T-Bone Burnett, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Victoria Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Case, Gordon Lightfoot, Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Ry Cooder, The Everly Brothers, and The Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steelband.

Parks has also scored a number of motion pictures, including Jack Nicholson's The Two Jakes, Casual Sex, Private Parts, Popeye (with Harry Nilsson ), and The Company.

Discography

• "Number Nine/Do What You Wanta", 1966, single 45
• "Come To The Sunshine/Farther Along", 1966, single 45
• Song Cycle, 1968 album
• Discover America, 1972, album
• Clang of the Yankee Reaper, 1976 album
• Jump!, 1984 album
• Tokyo Rose, 1989 album
• Fisherman & His Wife, 1991 album
• Orange Crate Art Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Park, 1995 album
• "Idiosyncratic Path: Best Of Van Dyke Parks" 1996
• Moonlighting: Live at the Ash Grove , 1998 album

Website

http://www.vandykeparks.com