TV NEWS
Did Michael J. Fox Really Sing Johnny B. Goode In Back To The Future?
By KATIE RANNO
“Back to the Future” sees Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travel back in time to 1955. In one scene, he performs Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” but it’s not actually him singing.
According to MNPR, a recording of Tim May’s guitar work is synched to Fox’s hand movements and the singing voice comes from Mark Campbell of Jack Mack and the Heart Attack.
Campbell did receive money from the film’s soundtrack, but he is not credited in the movie in order to keep up with the idea that Marty is the one actually singing the song.
This sets up a Bootstrap Paradox, when information is used in a time before its existence, in the time-traveling adventure series. Messing with the past can change the future.
The song is so great that it leads Marty to become the accidental founding father of rock ‘n roll. He also influences the genre with his dance moves inspired by future rock stars.
Michael J. Fox said he worked with a choreographer, “I can’t dance. But what I’d like to do is incorporate all the characteristics and mannerisms […] of my favorite guitarists.”