Remember the iconic guitar scene from Back to the Future? Of course you do. Well that guitar has gone missing, and Gibson has launched a search to find it.
We had to double-check this wasn’t some kind of marketing gag. But apparently the guitar-maker is serious, and will make a documentary of its efforts with director Doc Crotzer, who has previously worked on Back to the Future docs.
It’s going to be called Lost to the Future. And as well as charting the search through “long-forgotten film prop warehouses, fascinating vintage guitar shops, auction houses, and shadowy back alleys,” Lost to the Future will feature interviews with key people from Back to the Future history.
That includes Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Bob Gale, Harry Waters Jr. and Huey Lewis.
The guitar itself is a Gibson model that evokes old-school vibes even if the actual model, the Gibson ES-345, was first released years after the classic Les Paul, in 1959. Yep, based on when Back to the Future was set, the Gibson ES-345 shouldn’t have even existed yet.
“As children of the '80s, it is our duty to take fans of music, fans of the movie, and fans of true crime documentaries with us on this too-crazy-to-believe quest to find our generation's Excalibur,” says Lost to the Future director Doc Crotzer.
Gibson has launched a website for the upcoming documentary, where you can submit a “tip” on the guitar’s history or whereabouts. There’s even a phone line you can call or text.
The guitar was originally rented for the movie’s production from Norman’s Rare Guitars. And apparently has since gone missing.
“Years ago, I was astonished to learn this beloved cinematic artifact had apparently disappeared into the space-time continuum,” says Bob Gale, Back to the Future writer. “Since we don’t have a functioning time machine, this effort is probably our best chance to solve a decades-long mystery.”
Did you know the classic Back to the Future solo that inspired so many bedroom guitarists wasn’t actually recorded on a Gibson ES-345, though?
In a 2023 interview with Vertex Effects, session pro Tim May revealed he actually played the solo on a custom Stratocaster, style guitar.
When is Lost to the Future out? We have not been told yet. But it sounds like there might be enough time to become part of it, if you have a good enough story about the Back to the Future Gibson ES-345 to tell.
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