Editing Van Dyke Parks (section)

==="High Coin", MGM singles, and Laurel Canyon scene===
[[File:The Byrds 1965.png|thumb|left|upright|Parks jammed with members of [[the Byrds]] (pictured in 1965) before contributing keyboards to their studio albums]]

By the mid-1960s, Parks had become a fixture in Hollywood’s bohemian music scene, hosting gatherings at his Melrose Avenue apartment above a hardware store owned by the parents of Sunset Sound staff engineers [[Bruce Botnick|Bruce]] and Doug Botnick.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=39, 41}} He frequently played piano at the Troubadour alongside musicians such as [[Danny Hutton]], then a talent scout for Hanna-Barbera Music, and future [[Byrds]] bandleader [[Roger McGuinn]].{{sfn|Carter|2021|p=21}} Hutton recalled first encountering Parks at a Troubadour-related party around 1963,{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=42}} describing him as appearing boyish and holding forth intellectually to attendees.{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=42}}{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=39}}  Parks later named Hutton’s band [[Three Dog Night]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|1996|p=222}}

After 1964, Parks observed an influx of aspiring musicians into [[Laurel Canyon]], inspired by the commercial breakthroughs of local acts.{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=41}} [[The Beatles]]' [[Hollywood Bowl]] appearance that year and [[the Rolling Stones]]’ American release ''[[12 × 5|12&nbsp;×&nbsp;5]]'' convinced him that major labels were poised to commodify [[blues music]].{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=41}} He later recalled the transformative influence of ''12&nbsp;×&nbsp;5'' together with [[Bob Dylan]]'s [[Bob Dylan (album)|1962 self-titled debut album]]: "That had great impact on anybody who was thinking about a future in music, as I was. It wasn't serious music, but it carried a message, and we all joined the message."{{sfn|Priore|2005|pp=25–26}} Parks subsequently pursued songwriting more actively.<ref name=sodajerker>{{cite web|title=Episode 51 – Van Dyke Parks|url=http://www.sodajerker.com/episode-51-van-dyke-parks/|work=Sodajerker|access-date=January 1, 2014|date=January 1, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102195817/http://www.sodajerker.com/episode-51-van-dyke-parks/|archive-date=January 2, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref>  For Parks, the success of the Byrds under producer [[Terry Melcher]] had signaled that talented outsiders could achieve similar rewards, a moment he later likened to "the genie out of the bottle."{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=41}} He penned the song "High Coin", first recorded by Rick Jarrard and released as Jarrard's debut record in late 1965,{{cn|date=April 2025}} with subsequent recordings by [[Bobby Vee]], [[the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band]], [[Jackie DeShannon]], and [[The Charlatans (American band)|the Charlatans]].{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=41}}

{{Quote box
|align=
|quote=Some people got paid a lot of money to bottle the rebellion of the 60s, and that's when [rock music] started to mean zero to me. But I was still with the music, and the biggest event of that era for me was the singular person [[Brian Wilson]]. He was the force.
|source=—Van Dyke Parks, 2011<ref name="five"/>
|width = 25%
}}

In 1965, Parks made regular appearances on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] talk show ''[[The Les Crane Show]]'',{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=42}} engaging in discussions that included a segment with computer programmers.<ref name="Hopkins68"/>{{refn|group=nb|[[Les Crane]] described Parks as the "only man I know who speaks in stream-of-consciousness."<ref name="Hopkins68">{{cite magazine |title=Van Dyke Parks: Little Demand for Genius|last=Hopkins|first=Jerry|date=October 12, 1968 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-dyke-parks-76519/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 20, 2025}}</ref>}} That December, Hutton facilitated a meeting between [[MGM Records]] talent scout [[David Anderle]] and Parks, leading Anderle to manage Parks and secure a contract with MGM.{{sfn|Carter|2021|p=23}} Parks subsequently became part of a small circle of musicians and creatives who helped forge the emerging rock milieu of Laurel Canyon, later suggesting that their gatherings—alongside figures such as Hutton and Anderle—had created "a social nexus" that drew other artists to the area.{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=41}} In the same month, Crosby invited Parks to Beach Boys leader [[Brian Wilson]]'s home in Beverly Hills, marking their first meeting.{{sfn|Carter|2021|p=23}} Parks later recalled that Wilson was working on ''[[Pet Sounds]]'' (1966) and previewed the track "[[Sloop John B]]" for him: "I don’t even think he had the voices on yet, but I heard that long rotational breathing, that long flute [[ostinato]] at the beginning… I knew that this man was a great musician."{{sfn|Priore|2005|pp=34–35}} Parks later cited ''Pet Sounds'' as the only "striking [work] coming out of the United States" at the time.<ref name="tim">{{cite magazine|last=White|first=Timothy|authorlink=Timothy White (writer)|magazine=Musician|title=Van Dyke Parks|date=February 1985}}</ref> Dismayed by the [[British Invasion]], he later stated: "There was such an antipathy toward all things American. And I thought it would be really [[square (slang)|squaresville]] to investigate [...] America."<ref name="cohen2013"/> 

In 1966, Parks briefly signed with MGM under A&R executive [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]].{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=38}} The label issued two singles by Parks: "[[Come to the Sunshine]]", referencing his father's dance band, and "Number Nine", a [[folk-rock]] adaptation of [[Beethoven]]'s "[[Ode to Joy]]" credited to "the Van Dyke Parks".{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=38–39}} ''[[Los Angeles Free Press]]'' journalist [[Paul Jay Robbins]] translated the original German text into English for "Number Nine",{{sfn|Carter|2021|p=23}} while the lyrics of the B-side "Do What You Wanta" were written by Hutton.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=38}} The singles received little attention, though music historian Richard Henderson writes that their "lyric sleight-of-hand, vivacious melodies, and pell-mell arrangements" cemented the template for Parks' subsequent work.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=38–39}}
[[File:The Mothers of Invention (1968).jpg|thumb|upright|Parks (not present) was briefly a member of [[the Mothers of Invention]] in 1966]]
"Come to the Sunshine" reached number 16 on regional charts in Phoenix, Arizona, prompting Parks to perform there as an opening act for [[the Lovin' Spoonful]] under the name "the Van Dyke Parks".{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=36}} He was joined by Stills and Steve Young, all three playing guitar, though the band immediately dissolved.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=38}} Parks was also briefly a member of [[Frank Zappa]]'s [[Mothers of Invention]] prior to the recording of their album ''[[Freak Out!]]'' (1966),{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=38}} contributing three arrangements{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=48}} before leaving due to disinterest in performing before raucous audiences<ref name="dorian">{{cite web|last=Lynskey|first=Dorian|title=Van Dyke Parks: 'I was victimized by Brian Wilson's buffoonery'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/may/09/van-dyke-parks-victimised-brian-wilson-buffoonery|work=The Guardian|publisher=guardian.co.uk|date=May 19, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009063928/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/may/09/van-dyke-parks-victimised-brian-wilson-buffoonery|archive-date=October 9, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and disagreements with Zappa.<ref name="Deming2023">{{Cite web|first=Mark|last=Deming|title=Van Dyke Parks: Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/van-dyke-parks-mn0000838241#biography| website=[[AllMusic]]|date=n.d.|access-date=April 28, 2025}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|He later stated that these arrangements, alongside "a canceled check", amounted to the only remaining evidence he had played alongside bandmates [[Elliot Ingber]], [[Jimmy Carl Black]], and [[Roy Estrada]]. According to Parks, "Frank had a nickname for everybody. I was called 'Pinocchio.'"{{sfn|Kubernik|2009|p=48}}}}