Whose voice is really singing 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”. Such a classic scene but it has often begged the question…. was that actually Michael J Fox voice? And if not, then who was it?

As you may know, Back to the Future follows Marty Mcfly, an 18 year old teen who accidentally sends himself back to 1955 via Doc Brown’s Delorean Time Machine. Marty then finds himself trying to make sure his mother doesn’t fall in love with him, but rather, falling 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! Throughout the movie, you see that Marty has a love of music and playing the guitar. Early in the movie you see him and his band “The Pinheads” audition for the school dance, in which they were just “Too darn loud”!

Fast forward to 1955, Marty find himself on stage trying to play so his father George and kiss his mother Lorraine, so he doesn’t get erased from existence! Thankfully it worked, but then he is asked to play something that REALLY cooks! Well, knowing Mary, this was his chance to show off his amazing skills. So, he starts off singing and playing “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”. Easily becoming one of the more memorable moments in Back to the Future. So now why are we to believe Michael J Fox did actually sing or play it? The answer is that is not his voice, but he did have extensive guitar lessons to learn how to play Johnny B. Goode so that it would come across as authentic as possible!

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, and actually was along side Marty in his schools dance audition playing. 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.

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 Peter 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. “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet…. but your kids are gonna love it!