Discover America is a 1972 album by Van Dyke Parks released by Warner Bros., featuring Parks' take on Calypso music. Though only his sophomore release, it was considered a major departure from his debut record, 1968's psychedelic and folk-inspired Song Cycle. Discover America is also notable in the Van Dyke Parks canon for featuring all cover versions of previously written songs.
Most of the album's songs were originally written by early Calypso musicians between the 1920s and 1940s, but had fallen into the public domain by the time Discover America was recorded in 1972. As such, nearly all of the songs are listed as "Public domain; arranged & adapted by Van Dyke Parks." Lyrical themes run a wide range of American history, from John Jones, to early 20th-century musicians Bing Crosby and The Mills Brothers, actor Jack Palance, and political figures Franklin Roosevelt and J. Edgar Hoover.
Parks would continue his study of Calypso and Caribbean music on his third album, Clang of the Yankee Reaper, released in 1975. Throughout the 1970s, Parks acted as producer on Calypso albums for other artists, including The Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band's Esso in 1971, and The Mighty Sparrow's 1974 album, Hot and Sweet.
Read more about Discover America: Track Listing
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