Ever since Marty McFly announced to Doc Brown that he was "here from the future," Back to the Future has become one of our cinematic icons. It proved to be a pivotal achievement for many careers, including one composer's.

 

In the early 80s, Alan Silvestri was a jazz drummer and guitarist who had already written music for TV shows like CHiPs and Starsky and Hutch. It was his work for director Robert Zemeckis' Romancing the Stone that landed him the Back to the Future gig, as Zemeckis was directing that too. But composing for an orchestra was uncharted territory. "It was a true trial by fire, I would either make it or I wouldn’t make it," Silvestri told The Hollywood Reporter. "I was living in a level of stress and fear that’s rather unspeakable."

 

Silvestri has gone on to write music for 18 of Robert Zemeckis' films, including the rest of the Future triology, Forest Gump, The Polar Express, and his most recent The Walk. 

 

Click below or visit ReelSound to hear the first of a two disc set that Intrada released in 2009, featuring the original score from the movie and additional music not used.