# Who really played the guitar on ‘Johnny B Goode’ in ‘Back to the Future’?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-really-played-the-guitar-on-johnny-b-goode-in-back-to-the-future/
- Published: 2026-11-12T17:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T18:53:18+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-played-guitar-johnny-b-goode-back-to-the-future/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Tim May played the guitar track.
- Mark Campbell provided the vocals.
- Fox practised the movements to make the scene convincing.

## Summary

Michael J Fox did not play or sing the version of ‘Johnny B Goode’ heard in the famous ‘Back to the Future’ dance scene. The music was recorded by session guitarist Tim May and vocalist Mark Campbell, while Fox studied the guitar part and carefully matched his movements and performance to the recordings.

May was asked to blend the sound of Chuck Berry’s 1950s style with the guitar approach popular in the 1980s, including Van Halen, and recorded several takes. Fox worked with guitar instructor Paul Hanson to learn the song’s finger movements note for note, helping make the scene convincing despite not producing the soundtrack himself.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.