Later that year, Cahit Oben 4's second single included their first Turkish-language folksong, "Silifke'nin Yoğurdu," with the B-side featuring the first song written by Kızılok, "Hereke.

"[1] Cahit Oben 4 contested at Hürriyet's 1965 Golden Microphone Music awards, with their "Makaram Sarı Bağlar / Halime" release.

After taking a brief break from music to finish dentistry school, Kızılok performed alongside Barış Manço for nearly a year before releasing his first solo single, "Ay Osman – Sevgilim (Colours – Baby).

"[3] In 1969, Kızılok traveled with writer Arda Uskan to Sivas to meet famed folk poet Aşık Veysel, and to procure permission to record a cover of his song "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım" (I'm on a long, thin road), which started a friendship between them.

His 1969 cover of "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım / Benim Aşkım Beni Geçti" went to number one in the Turkish charts, and was Kızılok's first gold album.

He set the poetry of a number of prominent politically active poets to music, including Ahmed Arif's "Vurulmuşum" (1971), Aşık Mahzuni Şerif's "Darağacı" (1975) and former prime minister Bülent Ecevit's "Olmasın Varsın (debuted live on TV in 1975).

During the same period, he collaborated with a number of musicians, including fellow singer-songwriter Bülent Ortaçgil, environmental activist and singer Leman Sam, and fretless guitarist pioneer Erkan Oğur.

[1] Many musicians have recorded covers of his songs, including Barış Akarsu ("Bu Kalp Seni Unutur mu?"

Kızılok was also an innovative instrumentalist and album arranger, the first to incorporate sitar and Indian tabla within Turkish pop music.