/indigomusic/media/media_files/2025/06/20/guitar-used-by-marty-mcfly-2025-06-20-11-15-50.jpg)
Photograph: (Image Courtesy: YouTube)
Decades after ‘Back to the Future’ first hit cinema screens, the search is still on for one of its most iconic props — Marty McFly’s cherry red Gibson ES-345 guitar.
In the 1985 sci-fi classic, McFly famously grabs a guitar at a 1950s high school dance and launches into an electrifying rendition of ‘Johnny B. Goode’, playing a crucial role in bringing his parents together and ensuring his return to the 1980s. But while the moment became one of the film’s most memorable scenes, the guitar itself has mysteriously vanished.
Gibson, the guitar maker headquartered in Nashville, has formally kicked off a search to track down the missing instrument. They’ve also announced a new documentary, ‘Lost to the Future’, which chronicles the search and celebrates the film’s 40th anniversary.
Original Cast Joins Guitar Hunt in New Documentary
A promotional video for the documentary features several original cast members joining the search. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Harry Waters Jr. all appear, with Lloyd, channelling his Doc Brown persona, declaring the guitar “lost to the future.” Fox quipped that it could be tucked away in “some Teamster’s garage” or drifting somewhere in the space-time continuum.
/filters:format(webp)/indigomusic/media/media_files/2025/06/20/cherry-red-gibson-es-345-guitar-used-by-marty-mcfly-2025-06-20-11-22-12.jpg)
Huey Lewis also appears in the video, a nod to his band’s contribution to the film’s soundtrack, particularly the hit song ‘The Power of Love’.
In the film, McFly fills in for an injured guitarist during the 1955 ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ dance, performing ‘Earth Angel’ with Marvin Berry and the Starlighters before launching into a full-throttle version of ‘Johnny B. Goode’. Fox, who portrayed McFly, once shared that he modelled the energetic solo after a mix of his favourite guitar heroes — incorporating Jimi Hendrix’s behind-the-head moves, Pete Townshend’s windmill strums, and Eddie Van Halen’s tapping technique.
Though the students in the 1955 crowd are baffled by the futuristic guitar solo, McFly leaves them with a line that has since become cinematic gold: “I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet… but your kids are gonna love it.”
As Gibson continues its search, fans and collectors alike are being asked to come forward with any leads on the guitar’s whereabouts. Four decades on, the hunt is still very much alive — and the beloved prop remains lost in time.
