In 1965, Parks briefly joined Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention on stage, where he was referred to as "Pinocchio." Asked why he left, Parks said, "because I didn't want to be screamed at", although he attended sessions for the Mothers' 1966 album "Freak Out!". At some point, he performed at least one solo date with guitarists Steve Young and Stephen Stills as the opening act for the Lovin' Spoonful. They performed as "The Van Dyke Parks." Parks would soon write a song for Young entitled "The All Golden." He was also later asked to join Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young but declined.