The producers of the movie Reagan have released a much-requested Bob Dylan cover that was included in the film after months of copyright strikes against fans posting the song while watching the film.
In an exclusive reveal to Newsweek, Mark Joseph, producer of Reagan through his group MJM Entertainment Group, announced Dylan’s cover of the Cole Porter song “Don’t Fence Me In,” which was included for the end title credits of the biopic is now available on YouTube.
Dylan fans have wanted to share the song since the film’s release, recording it and posting it online. MJM had struck down fan postings, but have now released the song on YouTube, though they have not made it clear when the song might be available on Spotify.
Newsweek reached out to MJM Entertainment Group by email for further comment on Friday night.
Reagan received largely negative reviews from critics but outperformed box office expectations during its opening weekend. The film, loosely based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, depicts the life of the former president, with Dennis Quaid in the starring role.
Audiences responded far more favorably to the movie, handing the movie a 98 percent audience rating based on over 5,000 reviews in comparison to the 18 percent critic rating based on 68 reviews.
Nobel laureate Dylan’s cover of “Don’t Fence Me In” was a welcome addition to a star-studded soundtrack that included a cover of the 1930s song “Stormy Weather,” performed by Gene Simmons of KISS, and country music star Clint Black covered John Denver’s “Country Roads,” according to Spin.com.
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Quaid said he was “honored” to include Dylan’s song, revealing that the producers had given him “the freedom to do any song he wanted to do, whether an original or a cover, and he chose ‘Don’t Fence Me In.’ That was extra special since it was a song that Gene [Autry] made famous.”
Quaid is a third cousin of Gene Autry, famously nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, a multi-talented performer who starred in singing cowboy movies.
“Bob is a great lover of the American Songbook and we were delighted with the way he delivered the song,” Quaid said. “He’s a national treasure and was the perfect addition to the film. Gene and Clint were also generous with their time and Tanya has been a friend of many years and I’m thrilled to have her song as well.”
The film’s director Sean McNamara said it was a “dream” to have Dylan contribute to the film, saying the song “helps the viewer understand Reagan’s journey in a deeper way and it gives our film an emotional depth that I’m grateful for.”
“Don’t Fence Me In” was written in 1934 with music by Porter and lyrics by Porter and Robert Fletcher, originally written for an unproduced film musical called Adios, Argentina. Porter used Fletcher’s poem for the lyrics and wrote a cowboy song.
The song found continued life through a number of covers, such as Roy Rogers’ 1944 version that was used in the Warner Bros. movie Hollywood Canteen. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra both performed their own versions that same year—Crosby’s version releasing before Hollywood Canteen, and Sinatra’s version riding on its popularity.
Willie Nelson released a version too on his 1979 album One for the Road (with Leon Russell), and even Clint Eastwood released a version for his album “Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites.”
