"The Power of Love" is a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News, written for the soundtrack of the 1985 blockbuster film Back to the Future. The song became the band's first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and their second number-one hit on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. In the United Kingdom, it was released as a double-A side with "Do You Believe in Love," becoming the band's only top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. The song is included alongside "Back in Time" on the film's soundtrack, and appears as a bonus track on international editions of the band's fourth studio album, Fore!

Development

Huey Lewis was approached to write a theme song for the film. He met with Bob Gale, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis, from the film's production team, who intended that the band be Marty McFly'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." The lyrics do not make any mention of the film's storyline.

Use in Back to the Future

The song appears early in Back to the Future as Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) skateboards to school. Later in the film, McFly and his band play a hard rock version of the song for a Battle of the Bands audition, at which a judge played by Huey Lewis tells Marty's group that they are "just too darn loud," and later when Marty returns to his neighborhood. In the sequel, Back to the Future Part II, the 2015 version of Marty attempts to play the song on his guitar just after being fired but ends up playing it very poorly due to his damaged hand from his 1985 collision with a Rolls-Royce. Finally, it can be briefly heard playing in the car where Needles and his buddies are driving when Needles challenges Marty to the fate-determining car race near the end of Back to the Future Part III.

Music video

The music video, filmed in June 1985, shows the band playing in a nightclub (Uncle Charlie's, a frequent stop for the band in their early career) with Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd) showing up in his DeLorean "Time Machine", apparently after time-traveling, and a couple stealing it for a joy ride. Lewis said filming took the entire day and night to complete, with the band finishing up at 3:00 AM. The video is included as a bonus feature in several home video releases of Back to the Future.

Mixes

Three different mixes of the song have co-existed since its release in 1985. The Back to the Future soundtrack version, also the version used in the music video, has a run time of 3:51. A 12" version of the song was released to most countries, remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez, features a seven-minute dance version with changes in its mix such as additional backing keyboards and an extended guitar solo. A 7" single released in 1985 to radio in some countries as promotion of the film contains an edit of the aforementioned extended remix, with a run time of 4:21. In selected countries, this shorter edit was featured on the B-side of the 12" single. Whilst this version is occasionally played on radio, it has only ever been included on one Huey Lewis "Best Of" and the West German pressing version of Fore!

Reception

Cash Box said that "the inimitable charm and drive which made Sports such a pop/rock winner is displayed from the first chords". At the 13th Annual American Music Awards, the song was nominated for "Favorite Single" and "Favorite Video Single," winning in both categories. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 58th Academy Awards but lost to Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me." It was also nominee at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, but lost against USA for Africa's "We Are the World," to which Lewis and his bandmates had contributed backing vocals.

In other media

A cover of the song performed by Brazilian singer Bruno Faglioni was the opening theme of the Brazilian reality competition Power Couple throughout its run from 2016 to 2022. In July 2022, the song was added to Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat in a free update, becoming the first conventional Western pop song in a Taiko no Tatsujin game since the Japanese version of Taiko: Drum Master 17 years prior. The song was featured on the official soundtrack of the 2024 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Deadpool & Wolverine. It plays during a montage in which Deadpool travels the multiverse in search of a variant of Wolverine to replace the deceased version from his world, as he was the "Anchor Being" keeping the timeline intact.

Use in stage musicals

In 2024, the song had the unusual distinction of being prominently featured in two Broadway shows at the same time: Back to the Future: The Musical and The Heart of Rock and Roll. In Back to the Future, the song is sung by Marty McFly's character, unlike in the film. In The Heart of Rock and Roll, a jukebox musical composed of Huey Lewis songs, the song is sung by the lead character "Bobby".

Track listings

7-inch Chrysalis / HUEY 1 United Kingdom 7-inch Chrysalis / HUEY 3 United Kingdom 7-inch Chrysalis / 107 614 Canada 7-inch Chrysalis / CHS-42876 Canada 12-inch Chrysalis / CS 42889 United States 12-inch Chrysalis / HUEYX1 United Kingdom 12-inch Chrysalis / HUEYX3 United Kingdom 12-inch Chrysalis / 601 822 Germany

Personnel

Charts

"The Power of Love" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 46 for the week ending June 29, 1985, with Billboard calling the song "an out-of-the-box monster hit."

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications