Spotify’s newest original series explores tales of musical folklore like when Louis Armstrong got Richard Nixon to smuggle drugs for him, all in gorgeous animation told by T Bone Burnett.

https://youtu.be/W7CB91pZURA

‘Drawn & Recorded’ is the latest of Spotify’s original video series’ launched as part of “phase 1” of their move into video production. The series takes an animated look at some of music’s most significant tales and features narration from Academy Award winner and 13-time Grammy-Award winner producer and artist T-Bone Burnett.

The 10-part series will be animated by Drew Christie, partly written by music journalist and producer Bill Flanagan, and produced by Van Toffier, the former head of MTV/VH1 and CMT. The series will be created under Spotify’s friends at Gunpowder and Sky, digital content producers behind many of Spotify’s visual ventures.

Drawn and Recorded will feature 10 episodes:

Blind Willie Johnson: Blind Willie in Space – Blind Willie Johnson saw only darkness, darkness that he poured into music, the blues.  Blind Willie Johnson lived a tragic life and died a young man.  But at least one of Blind Willie’s recordings will live on forever… voyaging through the darkness of space. Into eternity.

ODB: Ol’ Dirty Hero – He might have been a ‘bastard’ to many, but to one little girl in Brooklyn, Ol’ Dirty, was nothing short of a superhero, a guardian angel in grills.

Kurt Cobain: Teen Spirit – Find out how the scent of a woman inspired Kurt Cobain to write an anthem for the ages.

Louis Armstrong: Satchmo & Nixon – How did jazz legend, Louis Armstrong, make then-Vice President Richard Nixon his drug mule?

The Allman Brothers: Foot Shootin’ Party – With a little help from brother, Duane, Gregg Allman takes aim at an unpopular war but ends up shooting himself in the foot… literally.

Rolling Stones & Brian Jones: Death By Water  – Brian Jones founded The Rolling Stones.  But once fame and fortune visited upon the group, Brian had trouble keeping his head above water.  Mick Jagger threw his friend and bandmate a lifeline.  But could Brian Jones reach it?

Motorhead: Lemmy’s Revenge – A mutton-chopped bike-riding speed-freak is hell-bent on revenge.  Motorhead is on the move… and it ain’t gonna be pretty.

Neil Young & Rick James: neil Young’s First Supergroup – The Vietnam-era draft broke up one of rock and roll’s ultimate odd couples though after the split each would go on to become an icon in his own right.

Merle Haggard: The Lonesome Fugitive – When Johnny Cash played San Quentin, he inspired a prisoner in the audience… and another country legend was born.

T.I. & Creed: The Angel T.I. – When Creed frontman, Scott Stapp, fell hard, the rapper, T.I., grew wings and saved his life.

The series will be available on Spotify from their desktop and mobile apps in the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.