Editing Van Dyke Parks (section)

==Further collaborative work (1971–1976)==
===''Happy End'', "Sail On, Sailor", and ''Feats Don't Fail Me Now''===
[[File:YMOHosono2008(cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Happy End (band)|Happy End]] member [[Haruomi Hosono]] (pictured with [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]] in 2010) later performed with Parks at concerts ]]

While recording the ''Discover America'' version of "Sailin' Shoes", Parks and George encountered the Japanese band [[Happy End (band)|Happy End]], who visited their studio unannounced. Parks later recounted that the group had sought guidance on creating "the [[California Sound]]". Though initially hesitant due to his workload, George noticed a briefcase filled with cash brought by Happy End’s representatives, prompting an impromptu collaboration. The two wrote {{nihongo|"Goodbye America, Goodbye Japan"|"さよならアメリカ　さよならニッポン"|"Sayonara America Sayonara Nippon"}}, which became a chart-topping hit in Japan,<ref name="Blues2013">{{cite web|last=Limnious|first=Michalis|title=Versalite artist Van Dyke Parks talks about the Beats, Horatius, Sinatra, Pythagoras, Ry Cooder; and 60s|url=http://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/interview-with-versalite-artist-van-dyke-parks|work=Blues.gr|access-date=August 18, 2013|date=May 22, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20130819033423/http://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/interview-with-versalite-artist-van-dyke-parks|archive-date=August 19, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> while Parks produced Happy End's final album, ''[[Happy End (1973 album)|Happy End]]'' (1973).{{sfn|Brend|2002|p=160}} This marked the first meeting between Parks' and band member [[Haruomi Hosono]], who later performed alongside Parks at numerous concerts in Japan.<ref name="BillboardLive2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/472 |title=ヴァン・ダイク・パークス インタビュー│Special│Billboard JAPAN |publisher=Billboard-japan.com |access-date=July 26, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727021117/http://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/472 |archive-date=July 27, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Parks was the primary composer of the Beach Boys' 1973 single "[[Sail On, Sailor]]", which reached number 79 on the ''Billboard'' charts.{{sfn|Priore|2005|pp=141–142}}{{refn|group=nb|Some later pressings omitted Parks' credit.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=323}}}} He joined initial recording sessions for Little Feat's fourth album ''[[Feats Don't Fail Me Now]]'' at Hollywood’s [[The Sound Factory|Sound Factory]] between January and March 1974.{{sfn|Brend|2002|p=76}} The track "Spanish Moon", produced by Parks and co-written with George, featured a prominent Parks-assisted horn arrangement by [[Tower of Power]] and other production elements distinguishing the track from the remainder of the album.{{sfn|Brend|2002|pp=76, 82}} A truncated version of the song was released as a single in March 1975.{{sfn|Brend|2002|p=82}}

Parks’ involvement did not extend beyond these early sessions, having sparked tensions with Warner Bros. due to budgetary disputes, as recalled by George, who added that Parks "was going to do more" before the band "got stuck [and] broke up for about two weeks".{{sfn|Brend|2002|p=76}}{{refn|group=nb|These Parks-produced sessions additionally yielded two unreleased outtakes, both later included on the 2000 compilation ''Hotcakes & Outtakes''.{{sfn|Brend|2002|p=82}}}} The album’s title origin remains contested between Parks and guitarist [[Paul Barrère]].{{sfn|Brend|2002|p=77}} Alongside members of Little Feat, Parks also contributed to Kathy Dalton's 1973 solo debut ''Amazing'' and [[Howdy Moon]]'s [[Howdy Moon (album)|1974 self-titled album]].{{sfn|Brend|2002|pp=158, 160}}

===Nilsson albums and ''Southern Nights''===
[[File:Harry Nilsson (1973).png|thumb|left|upright|Parks formed part of [[Harry Nilsson]]'s studio band in the mid to late 1970s]]

During the 1970s, Parks collaborated extensively with singer-songwriter [[Harry Nilsson]],{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=127–128}} contributing to albums such as ''[[Nilsson Schmilsson]]'' (1971), where he played accordion on "The Moonbeam Song",{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=388}} and ''[[Duit on Mon Dei]]'' (1975), where he provided Caribbean-inspired arrangements after completing ''Clang of the Yankee Reaper''.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=127–128}}{{refn|group=nb|Nilsson covered "Vine Street" on his 1970 album ''[[Nilsson Sings Newman]]'', with Newman on piano.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|p=99}}}} Parks introduced Nilsson to steel pan player and [[Desperadoes Steel Orchestra]] member [[Robert Greenidge]] for ''Duit on Mon Dei'' and performed piano on several tracks.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|p=187}}{{refn|group=nb|Parks helped Nilsson assemble the bulk of the album, excluding "What’s Your Sign?", "Salmon Falls", and "Down By the Sea", which were orchestrated by [[Perry Botkin, Jr.]].{{sfn|Shipton|2013|p=188}}}} His organizational skills proved vital during chaotic, drug-fueled sessions, helping maintain focus amid Nilsson’s increasingly erratic [[RCA Records|RCA]]-era output.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=127}} Parks characterized his role as Nilsson’s "musical secretary", translating fragmentary concepts—often scribbled on matchbooks—into fully realized compositions.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|pp=188–189}}

{{Quote box
|align=
|quote=My life basically gravitated toward [Harry Nilsson], who was truly a genius-- the smartest guy I ever met in the music business. He turned my head around because he could be retro without shame.
|source=—Van Dyke Parks, 2011<ref name="five"/>
|width = 25%
}}

Nilsson drew inspiration from Parks’ Trinidadian musical explorations, facilitated by their shared familiarity with the session players, including [[Jesse Ed Davis]], [[Jim Keltner]], [[Bobby Keys]], and [[Klaus Voormann]], whom Parks had previously worked with throughout 1974.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|p=189}} For ''Duit on Mon Dei'', Nilsson revisited older demos, such as "Turn Out the Light", which Parks and arranger Fredric Myrow reworked with steel pans and brass to evoke a Caribbean aesthetic, and the new original "Kojak Columbo", co-developed by Parks and [[Dr. John]]. Parks also originated the song "Good for God", which Nilsson expanded from a spontaneous studio exchange.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|p=191}} Plans for live performances involving Parks and the studio ensemble, plus [[Jesse Ed Davis]] and [[Ringo Starr]], were abandoned due to challenges securing Nilsson's ideal venue.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|p=195}} Parks involvement extended to the 1975 follow-up ''[[Sandman (album)|Sandman]]'', where he expanded Nilsson's "Jesus Christ, You're Tall", and whose Voorman-designed sleeve featured caricatures of Parks and other members of the studio ensemble.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|pp=195, 197, 201}}

Having brought Toussaint to Warners' attention via ''Discover America'', Parks traveled to Louisiana to work on Toussaint's 1975 album ''[[Southern Nights (Allen Toussaint album)|Southern Nights]]'', though he was ultimately denied a production credit due to intervention by Toussaint's management.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=126–127}} That year, Parks and Brian Wilson recorded "Come to the Sunshine", intended for the Beach Boys album that became ''[[15 Big Ones]]'' (1976), but the recording was lost.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=354}} In 1976, he appeared as one of the interviewees in the band's [[NBC]] television special ''[[The Beach Boys: It's OK!|It's OK!]]''.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=356}}