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On this day, January 3, 1943, Van Dyke Parks was born.
Van Dyke Parks
Parks performing at Primavera Sound 2010
Background information
Born: January 3, 1943 (age 82); Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Origin: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album Song Cycle and for his collaborations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys (particularly the album Smile). In addition to producing or arranging albums by Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Phil Ochs, Little Feat, Happy End, Ry Cooder and Joanna Newsom, Parks has worked with performers such as Syd Straw, Ringo Starr, U2, Grizzly Bear, Inara George, Kimbra, Suzy Williams, and Silverchair.
Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Parks spent his childhood studying clarinet, piano, and singing at the American Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey. He started his professional career as a child actor. During the 1950s, he worked steadily in movies and television, and in the early 1960s, he majored in music at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. After dropping out of university in 1963, he relocated to Los Angeles, where his first paid gig was arranging "The Bare Necessities" for the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book. Following this, he involved himself with the growing West Coast music scene, subsequently playing with—or appearing on records by—acts like the Mothers of Invention, the Byrds, Judy Collins, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Harpers Bizarre. His LP Song Cycle mixed a number of genres (including bluegrass, ragtime, and show tunes) and framed classical styles in the context of 1960s pop music. It was released to underwhelming sales, but attracted a cult following in later years.
Starting in the 1970s, Parks made repeated excursions into Afro-Caribbean music, notably on his 1972 album Discover America and on records he produced for the Esso Trinidad Steel Band and Mighty Sparrow. At the same time, he managed the audio/visual department of Warner Bros. Records, which was the earliest of its kind to produce music videos for artists. Since then, he established himself in motion pictures and over the years has directed, arranged, produced, and composed soundtracks for theatrical films and television shows such as Popeye (1980), Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), and The Brave Little Toaster (1987). Much of his later work has been in commissioned orchestral arrangements for lesser-known indie acts.
{snip}
1960s
Parks in late 1967
{snip}
1970s
{snip}
Although Smile had dissolved in mid-1967, Parks's collaborations with Wilson had not, for the time being. He was instrumental in getting the Beach Boys signed to Reprise and contributed vocally to "A Day in the Life of a Tree" and the writing of "Sail On, Sailor." Several songs with his lyrics, written during the Smile sessions, appeared on later Beach Boys albums, including "Surf's Up," "Heroes and Villains," and "Cabinessence.'
In September 1970, Parks became head of the audio/visual department of Warner Bros. records. This department was the earliest of its kind to record videos to promote records. Parks made the department up by himself and had few employees at Warner Bros. Together they made more than a dozen promotional films documenting artists including Ry Cooder, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Captain Beefheart. They were by nature documentary films, which could be rented or bought by any accredited music school. Parks later described the department as "promotional—but they could create an income stream for musicians who were hard-pushed into tours that required drugs to sustain them." Although each production ran for about ten minutes and required at least $18,500 to create, one exception was a video for the Esso Trinidad Steel Band, which ran about forty minutes. It also happens to be one of two films known by Parks to have survived since then, the other being a promotional video for Ry Cooder.
{snip}
Parks performing at Primavera Sound 2010
Background information
Born: January 3, 1943 (age 82); Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Origin: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album Song Cycle and for his collaborations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys (particularly the album Smile). In addition to producing or arranging albums by Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Phil Ochs, Little Feat, Happy End, Ry Cooder and Joanna Newsom, Parks has worked with performers such as Syd Straw, Ringo Starr, U2, Grizzly Bear, Inara George, Kimbra, Suzy Williams, and Silverchair.
Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Parks spent his childhood studying clarinet, piano, and singing at the American Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey. He started his professional career as a child actor. During the 1950s, he worked steadily in movies and television, and in the early 1960s, he majored in music at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. After dropping out of university in 1963, he relocated to Los Angeles, where his first paid gig was arranging "The Bare Necessities" for the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book. Following this, he involved himself with the growing West Coast music scene, subsequently playing with—or appearing on records by—acts like the Mothers of Invention, the Byrds, Judy Collins, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Harpers Bizarre. His LP Song Cycle mixed a number of genres (including bluegrass, ragtime, and show tunes) and framed classical styles in the context of 1960s pop music. It was released to underwhelming sales, but attracted a cult following in later years.
Starting in the 1970s, Parks made repeated excursions into Afro-Caribbean music, notably on his 1972 album Discover America and on records he produced for the Esso Trinidad Steel Band and Mighty Sparrow. At the same time, he managed the audio/visual department of Warner Bros. Records, which was the earliest of its kind to produce music videos for artists. Since then, he established himself in motion pictures and over the years has directed, arranged, produced, and composed soundtracks for theatrical films and television shows such as Popeye (1980), Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), and The Brave Little Toaster (1987). Much of his later work has been in commissioned orchestral arrangements for lesser-known indie acts.
{snip}
1960s
Parks in late 1967
{snip}
1970s
{snip}
Although Smile had dissolved in mid-1967, Parks's collaborations with Wilson had not, for the time being. He was instrumental in getting the Beach Boys signed to Reprise and contributed vocally to "A Day in the Life of a Tree" and the writing of "Sail On, Sailor." Several songs with his lyrics, written during the Smile sessions, appeared on later Beach Boys albums, including "Surf's Up," "Heroes and Villains," and "Cabinessence.'
In September 1970, Parks became head of the audio/visual department of Warner Bros. records. This department was the earliest of its kind to record videos to promote records. Parks made the department up by himself and had few employees at Warner Bros. Together they made more than a dozen promotional films documenting artists including Ry Cooder, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Captain Beefheart. They were by nature documentary films, which could be rented or bought by any accredited music school. Parks later described the department as "promotional—but they could create an income stream for musicians who were hard-pushed into tours that required drugs to sustain them." Although each production ran for about ten minutes and required at least $18,500 to create, one exception was a video for the Esso Trinidad Steel Band, which ran about forty minutes. It also happens to be one of two films known by Parks to have survived since then, the other being a promotional video for Ry Cooder.
{snip}
Van Dyke Parks on the Beatles
Dominic O'Neill
890 subscribers
27,823 views Feb 6, 2012
"I mean I've recently met some Beatles, the individuals - and I hold nothing against them, they're handsome. But they're also trans-continental and that's too much for me. I like the fact that, you know, one time Dennis Wilson (who could take me by storm like a straw in the wind) but I'll tell you this, I..I don't mean to categorise this guy - he's got a lot of meat. But Dennis came back from a tour in England and everybody was making fun of him. They said they had tennies on and stripped shirts, and it's almost like there was a point where the Beach Boys would deny that they were ever at the beach - you know where the land comes down to the water?"
Dominic O'Neill
890 subscribers
27,823 views Feb 6, 2012
"I mean I've recently met some Beatles, the individuals - and I hold nothing against them, they're handsome. But they're also trans-continental and that's too much for me. I like the fact that, you know, one time Dennis Wilson (who could take me by storm like a straw in the wind) but I'll tell you this, I..I don't mean to categorise this guy - he's got a lot of meat. But Dennis came back from a tour in England and everybody was making fun of him. They said they had tennies on and stripped shirts, and it's almost like there was a point where the Beach Boys would deny that they were ever at the beach - you know where the land comes down to the water?"
Van Dyke Parks --- Sail away
Wim Oudijk
119 subscribers
29,826 views Jun 20, 2010
From a live show on Dutch VPRO TV
Wim Oudijk
119 subscribers
29,826 views Jun 20, 2010
From a live show on Dutch VPRO TV
Van Dyke Parks "Heroes and Villains" on WNYC's Spinning On Air
SpinningOnAir
1.82K subscribers
87,712 views Oct 6, 2010
Van Dyke Parks performs "Heroes and Villains" with Clare and the Reasons in New York City on WNYC's Spinning On Air with David Garland, for an in-studio session broadcast Oct. 10, 2010. Check youtube.com/spinningonair for Van Dyke Parks performing "The All Golden." Song by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. Video by David Garland. More info at wnyc.org, spinningonair.org
SpinningOnAir
1.82K subscribers
87,712 views Oct 6, 2010
Van Dyke Parks performs "Heroes and Villains" with Clare and the Reasons in New York City on WNYC's Spinning On Air with David Garland, for an in-studio session broadcast Oct. 10, 2010. Check youtube.com/spinningonair for Van Dyke Parks performing "The All Golden." Song by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. Video by David Garland. More info at wnyc.org, spinningonair.org
This next video is outstanding. Don't miss this, whatever else you do. This is how I discovered The Fendertones.
Heroes and Villains - The Fendertones
Edwin Herder
16.9K subscribers
360,120 views Mar 30, 2008
Please check us out on Facebook!
Our Prayer/Gee/Heroes and Villains performed by the Fendertones in a bigger living room.
All of the vocal charting was done by Chad Odhner. Jim Verdeur did all of the string and horn charting, as well as playing the baritone sax and bass harmonica.
Some technical info:
Recored on 2/27/08 5 takes.
Audio: 25 tracks using Logic 8 on a Mac Pro Quad-Core.
2 Presonus Firepods and 1 MOTU 896 audio interfaces
The 2 bass guitars and the piano were run direct.
Mixed in Logic 8 over the next 3 weeks.
Video: Recorded with 10 cameras, 9 handicams and 1 DVCam.
The video was edited using Final Cut Pro during a 1 week period.
The final video was assembled using Final Cut, Soundtrack Pro and Logic.
Edwin Herder
16.9K subscribers
360,120 views Mar 30, 2008
Please check us out on Facebook!
Our Prayer/Gee/Heroes and Villains performed by the Fendertones in a bigger living room.
All of the vocal charting was done by Chad Odhner. Jim Verdeur did all of the string and horn charting, as well as playing the baritone sax and bass harmonica.
Some technical info:
Recored on 2/27/08 5 takes.
Audio: 25 tracks using Logic 8 on a Mac Pro Quad-Core.
2 Presonus Firepods and 1 MOTU 896 audio interfaces
The 2 bass guitars and the piano were run direct.
Mixed in Logic 8 over the next 3 weeks.
Video: Recorded with 10 cameras, 9 handicams and 1 DVCam.
The video was edited using Final Cut Pro during a 1 week period.
The final video was assembled using Final Cut, Soundtrack Pro and Logic.
Wed Jan 3, 2024: On this day, January 3, 1943, Van Dyke Parks was born.
Tue Jan 3, 2023: On this day, January 3, 1943, Van Dyke Parks was born.
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