LENNY WARONKER REVEALS THE FULL STORY BEHIND VAN DYKE PARKS' SONG CYCLE (PART 2) (Ep. 244B)

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. In this episode (Part I of a 4-part series edited down from a 5 1/2 hour interview), Lenny Waronker takes a deep-dive stroll along with host Dave Gebroe through his entire career, with priceless commentary and stories peeled off along the way. Legendary producer and Warner Brothers studio head Lenny Waronker is a record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Brothers Records, and later, as the co-founder and co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment to artists and his belief that "music, not money, was still number one." In 2025, Waronker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for non-performing industry professionals.

Part 2 focuses on the first album Lenny ever produced, Van Dyke Parks’ legendary debut LP Song Cycle. Parts 2 & 3 are an absolute dream come true for fans of this record.

Here are just a few of the many things that Lenny discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:

• The myriad of influences that made up the cultural stew that was Song Cycle;
• The mind frame of boundless largesse and expense that went into the making of the record;
• The real reason why Van Dyke covered Donovan’s “Colours”, and the reason he used an alias when it was released as a single;
• Lenny’s dalliance with speed, and what it did for him at the time that he otherwise had difficulty doing;
• Van Dyke’s need to obfuscate his own voice on a record so dependent on being able to understand its lyrical virtuosity;
• The current state of Lenny & Van Dyke’s friendship;
• And an in-depth deep dive on every song off Side One of Song Cycle.

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The Full Podcast: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

Dave's Show Notes are available at a separate link for Majors & up.