It was one of life's biggest mysteries - or at least it was in the '80s - what does Marty McFly play on his Walkman to wake up his sleeping father in "Back to the Future"? Was it really Edward Van Halen, as the label on the cassette tape says, and if so, what song is it? Only one person had the secret...
And now it's out! Van Halen himself has confirmed it was him riffing on the guitar in the iconic "Silence, Earthling" scene, which you can watch below.
Since the music clip is short and unrecognizable, there has been a lot of doubt since 1985 over the identity of the song, and whether or not it was really the Van Halen frontman. IMDB claims it's an untitled track written by Van Halen for the movie "The Wild Life" featuring Lea Thompson, who played Marty's mom in "Back to the Future." Others have said it's the song "Eruption," or another unreleased track of a Van Halen mix tape "Donut City."
What does Eddie say? Just "a bunch of noise."
A little anti-climactic, sure, but at least now we can sleep a little easier with the mystery solved.
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