John Means is a former community college English instructor from Mason City, Illinois, who had gained fame in the 1980s as a stand-up comedian.

[3] The songs were generally parodies of popular tunes of the day; however, in contrast to contemporary musical parodists such as "Weird Al" Yankovic, whose songs are performed comically, Means' musical accompaniments were largely faithful to the original artists'.

[3] He performed in several of their popular music videos, and traveled with them as the warm-up act on their 1984-1985 world tour.

"Dr. Gonzo" can be seen on DVD on the 2 disc Back to the Future set in a special music video made for the movie, featuring "Doc Brown" Christopher Lloyd.

In 1989, he joined 45 other performers, including Los Lobos, Santana, Aaron Neville, and Crosby, Stills & Nash at a benefit concert in Watsonville, California for victims of the Loma Prieta earthquake.