Editing Back to the Future (section)

===Music===
{{Main|Back to the Future (soundtrack)|l1=''Back to the Future'' (soundtrack)}}

{{Listen|filename=Back to the Future Theme by Alan Silvestri.mp3|pos=left|title=''Alan Silvestri – Back to the Future''|description=Alan Silvestri wanted to create a "heroic" theme that could be recognizable from only a few notes.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

[[Alan Silvestri]] composed the score for ''Back to the Future''; he had worked with Zemeckis on ''Romancing the Stone''. The only direction Zemeckis gave him was "it's got to be big". Silvestri used an orchestral score to create a sound that contrasted with the small-town setting and the significant time-changing events occurring within it. He wanted a heroic theme that would be instantly recognizable.<ref name="EsquireDidntGetMade" />

Huey Lewis was approached to write a theme song for the film; he was coming off the success of his recent album ''[[Sports (Huey Lewis and the News album)|Sports]]''. He met with Gale, Spielberg, and Zemeckis, who intended that [[Huey Lewis and the News]] be Marty's favorite band. Though flattered, Lewis did not want to participate because he did not know how to write film songs and did not want to write one called "Back to the Future". Zemeckis assured Lewis he could write any song he wanted. Lewis agreed to submit the next song he wrote, which was "[[The Power of Love (Huey Lewis and the News song)|The Power of Love]]".<ref name="USATodayLewis" /> Lewis maintains "Power of Love" was his first submission, but Zemeckis recalled a different first song that was rejected.{{sfn|Gaines|2015|p=96}}<ref name="AFIGB" /> Lewis later acquiesced to Zemeckis's request for a second song, "[[Back in Time (Huey Lewis and the News song)|Back in Time]]".<ref name="USATodayLewis" />

Musician [[Eddie Van Halen]] performed the guitar riff Marty (dressed as "Darth Vader") uses to wake George. The filmmakers wanted to use [[Van Halen]]'s music, but the band refused to take part, so Eddie took part on his own. [[Jack Mack and the Heart Attack|Mark Campbell]] provided Marty's singing voice, but did not receive credit, as the filmmakers wanted to pretend Fox was singing. When music supervisor [[Bones Howe]] learned of this, he secured Campbell a small percentage of the soundtrack revenue as compensation.<ref name="DOG88things" />{{sfn|Gaines|2015|p=88}} [[Paul Hanson (guitarist)|Paul Hanson]] taught Fox how to use a guitar to play "[[Johnny&nbsp;B. Goode]]", and choreographer Brad Jeffries spent four weeks teaching Fox to replicate various rock star moves popularized by artists like [[Pete Townshend]], [[Jimi Hendrix]], and Chuck Berry.<ref name="EmpireGuitar" />{{sfn|Gaines|2015|p=90}} Berry withheld permission to use "Johnny B. Goode" until the day before filming, receiving $50,000 for the rights.<ref name="TelegraphThings" /> Harry Waters{{spaces}}Jr. provided the vocals on "[[Earth Angel]]".{{sfn|Gaines|2015|pp=92–93}}