“Cinema's most influential guitar hasn't been seen in 40 years”: The guitar from Back to the Future's iconic Johnny B. Goode scene has been missing for decades – now Gibson has launched a worldwide search for it

Gibson has launched a worldwide guitar hunt to find the Gibson E-345 used by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future.

“Cinema's most influential guitar hasn't been seen in 40 years,” says Gibson, and it’s desperate to solve the mystery once and for all.

The 1985 film sees Fox’s character, Marty McFly, travel back in time 30 years and play Johnny B. Goode, which would be released three years later, at the ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ school dance. Stood before a bewildered crowd after the performance, McFly uttered the now-iconic line, “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But you're gonna love it.”

The scene, and the stunning Cherry Red Gibson, have inspired countless viewers to take up the instrument, with John Mayer and Coldplay’s Chris Martin among them. Martin says the film inspired him to start Coldplay, and he even brought Fox onstage to recreate the scene in 2016.

However, when the filmmakers went to track the guitar down for use in its sequel, the guitar, originally rented from vintage guitar expert Norman Harris, was nowhere to be found. Gibson is now keen to find out what happened to it.

The hunt for the legendary axe coincides with the production of a documentary, Lost to the Future, that celebrates the film’s 40th anniversary and looks at its cultural significance. More importantly, it will document the search for a guitar that’s been missing for four decades.

Back to the Future | Marty McFly Plays "Johnny B. Goode" and "Earth Angel" - YouTube

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As Gibson says, Doc Crotzer’s film will “guide viewers in the global hunt for this legendary instrument, from long forgotten film prop warehouses, fascinating vintage guitar shops, auction houses, and shadowy back alleys.”

It will star interviews from cast members Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Llyod, Harry Waters Jr., and Huey Lewis, whose song Power of Love is a quintessential part of the film’s charm, alongside creator/screenwriter Bob Gale. Musicians who felt the shockwaves of the scene will also feature.

Ironically, the guitar used in the film was from the future. The model used wasn’t launched until ‘58, and as Harris later explained, the Back to the Future filmmakers ignored his note that it was not period correct.

“The propmaster came to us because they knew that we had guitars from certain time periods,” Harris revealed in an interview with Joe Bonamassa.

“And they originally came in and said, ‘We want something red with a whammy bar. It’s 1955.’ So I said, ‘Well, maybe a Stratocaster, or certain Gretsch guitars that have Bigsbys.’

“They came in and the art director chose another guitar – an ES-5,” he goes on. “Then the day that they were gonna shoot, whoever was in charge said, ‘Wait a sec! I want a red guitar with a vibrato on…’ So they ran back to us, brought back the ES-5, and took this ES-345.”

To coincide with the film's anniversary, Gibson has revealed it will also create 88 Gibson and 85 Epiphone reissues of the guitar in its unmistakable Cherry Red finish. Michael J. Fox will also star in an episode of Gibson TV's 'The Collection'.

Lost to the Future - The Search for Marty McFly's Back to the Future Guitar - YouTube

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Readers with clues to the whereabouts of the missing ES-345 Cherry can contact Gibson, via www.LostToTheFuture.com, or call 1-855-345-1955.