Michael J. Fox Played Guitar With Dave Matthews Band: Rock On, McFly
Michael J. Fox played guitar and wowed the crowd in a welcome scene of deja-vu when he took to the stage with the Dave Matthews Band at a fundraising event in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria on Saturday.
Michael J. Fox is most widely known for two things. He achieved stardom in his acting career through his portrayal of Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movies, and the actor went on to pursue roles in other films and television shows. In addition to being a beloved actor, he is also known as an individual with Parkinson’s disease and as a determined advocate in the fight to help find a cure. If you haven’t watched Back to the Future in awhile, you may have forgotten another one of the man’s impressive abilities. Michael J. Fox played guitar in that movie, and he just demonstrated his musical skill in another jam session over the weekend.
Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 30 in 1991. Seven years later, he went public with his diagnosis and went on to establish the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The organization is dedicated to funding research to improve treatments and find a cure for the debilitating brain disease.
Each year, the foundation holds a fundraising event known as A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cure Parkinson’s. According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the star-studded gala raises approximately $5 million annually. The event hosts roughly 1,000 guests and features comedy and musical entertainment.
This year, Michael J. Fox played guitar when he switched roles from event host to performer, enthralling attendees and showing them all that his strumming skills haven’t lost a beat. With the event occurring just days after a presidential election that has left many dazed and dismayed about the prospects for their future, the musical interlude was a therapeutic comfort that showed how some things — good things — do not change.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox remains hopeful that a Trump administration will continue to provide government support funding needed for researchers to find the cure for Parkinson’s disease.
Michael J. Fox played guitar in Back to the Future when his iconic character was called upon to fill in on stage during a high school dance. It would seem that the future is now, as Fox took up a guitar to once again liven the stage alongside blues musician Dave Matthews. The 55-year-old has still got it, delivering the riffs as he jammed with the band to the classic Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower.” In true McFly fashion, he broke into an amazing solo guitar performance midway into the song, showing the crowd that he is unstoppable.
This was not the guitar guru’s only recent gig. Michael J. Fox played guitar to rock the stage alongside Elvis Costello at the 2012 A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cure Parkinson’s event.
According to Rolling Stone, Michael J. Fox played guitar with the band Coldplay on the stage of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in July. For that performance, the past truly came back to the future in the chosen selection of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the very song that Fox performed in Back to the Future.
CNN’s chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta conducted an interview with Michael J. Fox in 2010, during which Fox discussed his acceptance of his diagnosis. He stated that Parkinson’s disease has not prevented him from pursuing the pastimes about which he is passionate, including spending quality time with his four children, playing hockey, and playing guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfWaRErh8e4
If Saturday’s Guitar Hero-worthy performance is any indication, Michael J. Fox played guitar as impressively as he did in his fictional visit to 1955 in the blockbuster movie that first captivated audiences in 1985. Rock on, McFly, rock on.
[Featured Image by Charles Sykes/AP Images]
