Lumineers Cover Bob Dylan Classic for Project in Conjunction with Burns/Novick's 'The Vietnam War'

THE VIETNAM WAR, a new film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick scheduled to premiere on PBS on September 17, 2017, has inspired a new platform for leading artists to share their renditions of iconic songs from that era.

The songs will be featured on a new Spotify destination created in partnership with Bank of America, Burns's long-time corporate underwriter and a longtime supporter of veterans and their families. The cover songs will accompany music from the film's soundtrack, which includes period pieces from Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and many others as well as new music composed and performed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

The platform will launch with The Lumineers cover of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." More content including cover songs recorded by other leading artists will be added to the hub in October. Additionally, special video segments of the artists involved in the project discussing their personal perspectives will be featured.

"Our films have long-explored how history is an echo that speaks to us about our own shared humanity," Ken Burns said. "The Vietnam War helped shape our culture in many ways, from our politics and the divisions we experience today to the arts. So I was thrilled that Bank of America agreed to create a program that allows some of our leading artists today to reimagine these iconic songs, and to do so in a way that benefits veterans, civil rights, and other causes that also connect us to that earlier period."

"The music in our film speaks to us so directly from this period, and it has become such an ingrained part of our culture and who we are," said Lynn Novick. "While younger generations may be familiar with these songs, our hope is that our film helps them understand the context in which they were written. These new pieces speak to us across time, reminding us of the talent that created them while sharing with us something more universal that continues to help us understand who we are"

The compelling video gives an inside look into the artists' sessions. In the Lumineers's cover video, Wesley Schultz, guitarist and lead singer, talked about the how he found the "rapid fire machine gun delivery" of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" to be "disorienting." He said: "I can't imagine what it was like to hear that song at the time, but it still has that effect today, with all that's out there."

Schultz has his own personal connection to the Vietnam War, as his uncle Charles Schultz enlisted and was killed in active duty during the war, which is referenced in the band's hit song, "Charlie Boy." The Lumineers performed the Bob Dylan cover live during a screening of the new documentary series at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C on September 12.

"Having lost my uncle Charlie in Vietnam, this documentary hits close to home for me," said Schultz. "The song is disorienting in its delivery, and beautifully reflects the chaos of that era. There are haunting similarities of divide today. The stories Ken and Lynn share in this film get us closer to the truth around something as complicated as the Vietnam war."
The Spotify destination will also include playlists featuring all of the songs from the series, giving fans an even more in-depth experience.

As part of the Spotify partnership, Bank of America is making philanthropic investments in organizations that support military and civil rights causes, including the USO's transition services (which help current service members transition back to civilian life), the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Urban League, and others.

"Music has always been a bridge across generations helping create a shared experience. Our partnership with Spotify aims to create multi-generational conversations about the themes of Vietnam that still resonates today," said Anne Finucane, vice chairman, Bank of America. "By making connections through music and investing in non-profits that support guy military and civil rights causes, we aim to foster dialogue and understanding that helps us move forward together."

In an immersive narrative, Burns and Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. THE VIETNAM WAR features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

Ten years in the making, the series brings the war and the chaotic epoch it encompassed viscerally to life. Written by Geoffrey C. Ward, produced by Sarah Botstein, Novick and Burns, it includes rarely seen, digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and revelatory audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations.

THE VIETNAM WAR features new, original music written and recorded by Academy Award-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The film also features new music arranged and performed by Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble. It is the first time Burns and Novick have worked with Reznor and Ross, as well as with Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble. Additional music in the film was composed by David Cieri and Doug Wamble, both of whom are longtime collaborators with Florentine Films.

The series also features more than 120 popular songs that define the era, including tracks from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, Ben E. King, Phil Ochs, Donovan, Johnny Cash, Barry McGuire, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Otis Redding, Santana, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, The Temptations, Booker T. and the M.G.s, Pete Seeger and more.

In the United States, the first five episodes will air nightly from Sunday, September 17, through Thursday, September 21, and the final five episodes will air nightly from Sunday, September 24, through Thursday, September 28. Each episode will premiere at 8:00 p.m. ET with a repeat broadcast immediately following the premiere (check local listings). The film will also be available in Spanish on streaming.

On September 17, concurrent with the broadcast premiere, the first five episodes of THE VIETNAM WAR will be available for streaming on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast, and the final five episodes will be available beginning September 24.

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