Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He is best known for his 1967 album Song Cycle and collaborations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, notably on the album Smile. Parks has composed various film and television soundtracks and has produced or arranged albums for artists such as Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Phil Ochs, and Little Feat. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Parks studied clarinet, piano, and singing at the American Boychoir School. He began his career as a child actor in the 1950s and later pursued music, majoring in it at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in the early 1960s.