Singer Huey Lewis made a quick cameo in Back to the Future that was fitting given his impact on the franchise. Huey Lewis, the lead singer of the classic ‘80s rock band Huey Lewis and the News, has maintained significance not just in musical pop culture, but also in film history. Lewis notably wrote the 1985 song “The Power of Love” specifically for Back to the Future’s soundtrack, which went on to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being played several times in the film. In addition to performing Back to the Future’s timeless theme song, the true story of Lewis’ cameo makes his impact on the movie all the more powerful.
Shortly after “The Power of Love” plays as Marty McFly skateboards to school, Huey Lewis appears as the horn-rimmed glasses-wearing administrator who watches Marty and his band The Pinheads play a hard rock version of the same song. In a fitting meta-joke about the singer’s own song, Lewis’ unnamed character then stands up with a megaphone and says, “Thank you, fellas. I’m afraid you’re too darn loud.” Huey Lewis isn’t seen again in the film after rejecting Back to the Future‘s 1985-timeline Marty for Battle of the Bands, but his voice is still heard when the band’s original song “Back in Time” plays.
After Huey Lewis finished writing Back to the Future’s theme song, director Robert Zemeckis approached the singer about appearing on-screen. Lewis recalled Zemeckis commenting that if they “had any guts,” they would include the popular artist for a cool cameo, which lead to the idea that Huey Lewis and the News would be Marty McFly’s favorite band in the movie. This would explain Marty being inclined to cover “The Power of Love” for Battle of the Bands – though the song was released only a few weeks before Back to the Future’s 1985 premiere. Robert Zemeckis came up with the idea for Huey Lewis to cameo as a judge for Battle of Bands, with the director loving the true in-joke of having the singer reject Michael J. Fox’s character when playing his own song (via USA Today).
Lewis initially rejected the idea of cameoing in Back to the Future, which fittingly repeats the true story of his hesitancy in even writing the film’s theme song. Lewis wasn’t keen on writing a song titled “Back to the Future,” but Zemeckis gave him creative liberty with the title, bringing the artist back on board. Rather than completely pass on the cameo, Huey Lewis said he would appear on-screen if he was both uncredited and disguised. While many still recognized the popular singer, Back to the Future disguised the rock star with horn-rimmed glasses, a suit, and a nerdy disposition to counter his typical persona. In a clip of Lewis on set of Back to the Future‘s movie, the singer seemed to be having a fun time behind the scenes, even complimenting Michael J. Fox’s guitar playing and immediately laughing once he finished his line.
The clip also revealed that the Battle of the Bands audition would have ended with a one-liner by Marty asking the judge, “What do you want – Huey Lewis?” The line was ultimately cut, which makes sense as it was a little too on the nose. Lewis explained to Rolling Stone that his inspiration for his Back to the Future cameo came from a record label employee he worked with, who he called “a real square” and had a “funny way of speaking.” Lewis said he saw the employee months later, who complimented him on the performance and remarked that both of them should win an Oscar for it. While “The Power of Love” was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars, Huey Lewis’ not-so-secret cameo in Back to the Future, unfortunately, was not.
