Apple offers a compelling sneak peek at its upcoming 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything documentary series in a new trailer. Set to debut on Apple TV+ on Friday, May 21, the documentary argues 1971 — a.k.a. 50 years ago — was a crucial juncture for music and society.

As one of the interviewees quoted in the trailer notes, “I don’t think the music was a reflection of the times, as much as the music also caused the times.”

The eight-part documentary will focus on a broad range of musical artists, including (but not limited to) The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Joni Mitchell, and Lou Reed. That should give plenty of breadth to the series, rather than focusing on one specific genre/set of accompanying issues/geographic region.

The series’ director is Asif Kapadia, an Academy Award, BAFTA and Grammy winning director (born, it turns out, in 1972) who directed the 2015 documentary Amy, about the tragic, prodigiously talented singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse.

Taking us back to 1971

Judging by the talent involved, the archival footage on display in the trailer, and the general topic, I couldn’t be more interested to check out 1971. When it comes to Apple TV+, most of the attention is (understandably) focused on its original scripted series and movies. But its documentaries — and, specifically, its music  documentaries — have been undeniably great across the board. 2020 saw the release of a feature documentary about the Beastie Boys, and the excellent Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You. Earlier this year, we got Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.

Hopefully this series will do justice to its subject matter. Less than two weeks to wait in order to find out…

What has been your favorite Apple TV+ documentary so far? Let us known in the comments below.