1985 No.1 Rock Hit Became the Anthem of an Oscar-Winning Cult Classic
During the hot summer of 1985,Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloydstarred in what would become one of the biggest science fiction films ever released in Hollywood. The cult classic filmBack to the Future also gave way to a chart-topping hit track by an American rock band that became its theme.
Everyone knows the story of the Oscar-winning film following Fox as a teenager named Marty McFly in 1985. Marty finds himself traveling back in time to 1955 thanks to a time-traveling DeLorean built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd). The two try to fix the past after accidentally causing Marty's parents to never meet and fall in love, putting the teenagers' existence in jeopardy.
Back to the Future was a smashing success, to say the least, having grossed over $398 million at the box office. It cemented itself as one of the best films ever made that spawned a multimedia franchise, cult classic status, and two sequels. The film wasn't the only thing that gained critical acclaim.
The film needed the right theme song, with "The Power of Love" becoming Huey Lewis and the News' first chart-topping hit at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It also ranked at No.1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. Lewis admitted in a Rolling Stone article that the track became more powerful than they ever realized.
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ProducerSteven Spielberg, director Robert Zemeckis, and writer Bob Gale approached Lewis to write the track, explaining Marty would have been a big fan of the band. Lewis was hesitant at first, having never written a movie theme track and not wanting to write a track titled "Back to the Future." The trio reassured him they wanted a track created by Lewis in his own rock style.
"I strapped on that Sony Walkman and went for a little jog, and I wrote the song on that jog," he explained. "I'm in the control room and we're listening to the vocal and Sean [Hopper], our keyboard player, at the end of the thing he looks at me and says, ‘You know what? Best thing we've ever done."
Lewis admits that over time, with the song being covered by others and in the film, the original "got it right." The track appears in all three Back to the Future installments, appearing early on in the original as Marty skateboards to school. "The Power of Love" later appears as the track Marty and his band cover for Battle of the Bands.
"The Power of Love" became a pop culture hit, having been nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars, appearing in video games, theDeadpool & Wolverine soundtrack, and Broadway productions.
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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 12:13 PM.