Soundtrack }}
Back to the Future: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack is the
soundtrack album for the film
Back to the Future. It was released on July 8, 1985, by
MCA Records. The album features two score tracks by
Alan Silvestri, two pop songs by
Huey Lewis and the News, two performances by the fictional Marvin Berry and the Starlighters, one performance by
Marty McFly with the Starlighters, and two brief pop songs heard in the background of the film.
AllMusic rated the soundtrack three stars out of five. The soundtrack spent 19 weeks on the
Billboard 200, peaking at number 12 in October 1985. Later issues of the album were released by
Geffen Records.
Development American rock band
Huey Lewis and the News recorded "
The Power of Love" and "Back in Time".
Huey Lewis was asked to write a
theme song for the film. Lewis was asked by Zemeckis to write one more song for the film's end credits, which became "Back in Time". "
Johnny B. Goode", written by
Chuck Berry, is performed in the film by the
characters Marty McFly and the Starlighters.
Michael J. Fox lip-syncs to vocals by
Mark Campbell, with guitar by Tim May. Campbell and May received a "special thanks" acknowledgment in the film's end credits, while the recording was credited to "Marty McFly with the Starlighters" because the filmmakers wanted to maintain the illusion that Fox was singing. After music supervisor
Bones Howe learned of this, he secured Campbell a small percentage of the soundtrack revenue as compensation. Berry withheld permission to use "Johnny B. Goode" until the day before filming, and was paid $50,000 for the rights.
In the film In the film, Marvin Berry, a fictional cousin of Chuck Berry, telephones Chuck and plays him the song, telling him it is "that new sound you're looking for". "Johnny B. Goode" was released in 1958, three years after the scene in which it is played. Huey Lewis portrays a high-school band audition judge who rejects Marty McFly's band, the "Pinheads", as they perform an instrumental
hard rock version of "The Power of Love". Lewis said the character was inspired by a
Chrysalis Records executive.
Track listing • Lead vocals provided by
Harry Waters Jr. • Lead vocals provided by
Mark Campbell Songs that appear as diegetic music in the film but are not included on the soundtrack album: The score was reissued on October 12, 2015, as a single-disc release titled
Back to the Future: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Expanded Edition), commemorating the film's 30th anniversary. This release contains only the music from the first disc of the original limited two-disc set.
Development Alan Silvestri had previously worked with director Robert Zemeckis on
Romancing the Stone. Silvestri said Zemeckis's only direction for the score was that "it's got to be big". Silvestri used an orchestral score to contrast the film's small-town setting with its time-travel story, and developed a heroic theme designed to be instantly recognizable from only a few notes. For scenes in which Silvestri's score was shortened, replaced with source music, or unused, the release presents the full cues as originally recorded. These include the final moments of "Einstein Disintegrated" and "Peabody Barn; Marty Ditches DeLorean", as well as "Town Square" and "Logo". Themes from the score were later used in the film's sequels, in
Back to the Future: The Ride, and as ambient music at
Universal Studios theme parks.
Track listing Disc 1: The Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack • "Logo": 0:21 • "DeLorean Reveal": 0:48 • "Einstein Disintegrated": 1:22 • "'85 Twin Pines Mall": 4:44 • "Peabody Barn; Marty Ditches DeLorean": 3:09 • "'55 Town Square": 1:17 • "Lorraine's Bedroom": 0:48 • "Retrieve DeLorean": 1:14 • "1.21 Jigowatts": 1:37 • "The Picture": 1:08 • "Picture Fades": 0:18 • "Skateboard Chase": 1:40 • "Marty's Letter": 1:21 • "George to the Rescue – Pt. 1": 0:51 • "Marvin Be-Bop": 2:27 • "George to the Rescue – Pt. 2": 2:36 • "Tension/The Kiss": 1:34 • "Goodnight Marty": 1:32 • "It's Been Educational/Clocktower": 10:30 • "Helicopter": 0:21 • "'85 Lone Pine Mall": 3:48 • "4x4": 0:41 • "Doc Returns": 1:14 • "Back to the Future": 3:15
Disc 2: The Creation of a Classic... alternate Early Sessions • "DeLorean Reveal" • "Einstein Disintegrated" • "Peabody Barn" • "Marty Ditches DeLorean" • "'55 Town Square #1" • "'55 Town Square #2" • "Retrieve DeLorean" • "1.21 Jigowatts" • "The Picture" • "Skateboard Chase" • "George to the Rescue" • "Tension; The Kiss" • "Clocktower" • "'85 Lone Pine Mall" • "Doc Returns" • "Ling Ting Ring" ==
Back to the Future Part II (1989) ==