Who Really Sings & Plays Guitar on “Johnny B. Goode” In Back To The Future

Certainly one of the most memorable moments from Back to the Future is when Marty McFly, played by Michael J Fox, is on stage at his parents 1955 “Enchantment Under the Sea” dance playing “Johnny B. Goode”. It is such a classic scene, and iconic, but has often begged the question…. was that actually Michael J Fox voice? And if not, then who was it?

In 1985, Robert Zemeckis took the audience on a journey through time with the sci-fi movie Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, and Christopher Lloyd as Emmett “Doc” Brown, Marty’s eccentric scientist friend who had been working on a device to travel through time. Back to the Future was a big success with critics and viewers, making way for a franchise consisting of three movies, a short film, and an animated series.

Back to the Future follows Marty McFly, an 18-year-old teenager who is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 through a time machine created by his scientist friend Doc Brown. Once in the 1950s, Marty has to find a way to not only return to his time, but also make sure that his parents fall in love, as there’s a risk of his presence in the past creating a paradox that could end with his existence. Marty finds himself trying to make sure his mother doesn’t fall in love with him, but rather, fall for his father George! All the while, Doc is working out a plan to send Marty back to 1985 via the lightning strike on the clock tower.

Marty is friendly and easygoing but accident-prone, which made way for many fun moments through the movie, but one of the most iconic scenes was thanks to his love for music. Marty plays guitar and has a band named The Pinheads, and during his parents’ prom in the 1950s, he performed the rock classic “Johnny B. Goode”, three years before the song was released.

Marty find himself on stage trying to play so his father George and his mother Lorraine kiss, and he doesn’t get erased from existence! Thankfully it worked, but then he is asked to play something that "REALLY cooks!" Well, knowing Marty, this was his chance to show off his amazing skills. McFly starts off singing and playing Chuck Berry's 1958 hit “Johnny B. Goode”, and boy does he COOK…. particularly when it come to the guitar solo! So much so that the band stops and Marty realizes they just aren’t ready for that yet, “But your kids are gonna love it”. This scene is by far one of the more memorable moments in Back to the Future. 

The “Johnny B. Goode” performance became one of the most memorable moments from Back to the Future, and contrary to what some may believe, Michael J. Fox didn’t sing nor play on the track, but he did make an effort to make it look as he did.

Marty’s singing voice was that of Mark Campbell, member of the soul and R&B band Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. Campbell wasn’t credited as the production crew wanted to fully make the illusion that Fox was singing, but music supervisor Bones Howe made sure Campbell got a small percentage of the soundtrack revenue as compensation.

As for Michael J Fox learning guitar, that was done via 2 methods. Fist off, Michael was taught how to play the actual song by Paul Hanson, who is a famed guitar coach in Hollywood. Michael got so good he told Robert Zemeckis he could cut to his hands playing anytime time, as he was that confident in his abilities to play the song. The second step was simply syncing Michael J Fox playing with the actual music, so Tim May was brought in to record the guitar. Although it would have been somewhat logical to have Paul Hanson play the guitar as well, the crew went with May instead, though Hanson still took part in the movie as The Pinheads’ bass guitarist.

You might have also noticed Marty’s Rockstar moves during his guitar solo. That was done on purpose of course, as an nod to all the guitar greats! Choreographer brad Jeffries taught Michael J Fox how to move and play like legends Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry, and Jimi Hendrix. Put together, it made for such a cool guitar solo and certainly made it a memorable event at the dance. It’s especially great as Michael J. Fox was willing to learn how to play the song to make it look real, even if he didn’t go as far as to play it himself.