Get ready to rev your DeLorean engines, because the most legendary guitar solo in movie history just got a mystery worthy of Doc Brown’s chalkboard.
The cherry red Gibson ES-345 that Michael J. Fox absolutely shreds during the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in Back to the Future has been missing in action since 1985—the very year Marty McFly took the stage and rocked the ’50s with a little Chuck Berry… and a whole lotta future.
Now, as the film hits its 40th anniversary, Gibson has launched a real-world manhunt to locate the iconic axe. They’ve released a “Have You Seen This Guitar?” poster, and yes—Marty himself is on board. Michael J. Fox and fellow cast members have joined the campaign in a heartfelt video plea to find the long-lost six-string.
Here’s where the trail gets as foggy as Hill Valley on a stormy night: The guitar was originally rented from Norman’s Rare Guitars in Los Angeles. It was returned after filming wrapped, and then—poof—no one knows what happened next. No receipts, no tracking, just one big musical mystery.
Experts believe it was likely a 1960 or 1961 model Gibson ES-345, which, fun fact, wouldn’t have existed in 1955—the year the dance takes place. But hey, when you’re a time-traveling teen saving your parents’ marriage, a little anachronism is forgiven.
The prevailing theory? Someone may have unknowingly purchased the guitar from Norman’s years ago, unaware they were holding a piece of movie magic.
So if you—or someone you know—has a vintage cherry red Gibson that might’ve made Marty McFly a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, it’s time to check your collection. This isn’t just about a guitar—it’s about a piece of cinematic and musical history going back to the future where it belongs.
