The Power of Love (Huey Lewis and the News song)
original song written and composed by Johnny Colla, Huey Lewis, and Christopher Hayes; from the 1985 film "Back to the Future", performed by Huey Lewis and the News
"The Power of Love" is a song by Huey Lewis and the News, written for the soundtrack of the 1985 film Back to the Future. The song was released as a single and became the band's first number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and their second number-one hit on the US 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 that day, McFly and his band begin a hard-rock version of the song for a Battle of the Bands audition at his school, but is interrupted by one of the judges (played by Huey Lewis himself) telling Marty's group that they are "just too darn loud".
“The Power of Love (Huey Lewis and the News song)” enters the record as original song written and composed by Johnny Colla, Huey Lewis, and Christopher Hayes; from the 1985 film "Back to the Future", performed by Huey Lewis and the News. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Power, Love and Huey can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2093786. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1985.
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