Remember When The Traveling Wilburys Carried on Without a Core Member in 1990?
When The Traveling Wilburys first appeared on the scene, they spread joyous vibes across the music world. Here were five legends putting aside any ego, to the point that they even used fake names, to deliver effortlessly rootsy music that charmed and enthralled listeners.
But when they returned for their second album a few years later, a bit of gloominess hung around the edges. One of the Wilburys had passed away in the interim, leaving a gaping hole that the four remaining members knew they couldn’t even try to fill.
The Wilburys Rise
The common story about the creation of the Traveling Wilburys is that it was a spontaneous thing. But that’s not quite the case. As he was making his 1987 album Cloud Nine, George Harrison expressed to Jeff Lynne that he wanted to one day put together a band featuring all his favorite artists. He mentioned Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan as ideal members.
That dream became a reality when Harrison, needing to make a B-side for a single, assembled Lynne, Dylan, Orbison, and Tom Petty. Harrison’s record company reverberated with excitement when they heard the finished product, “Handle With Care”. They asked if the collaboration could be more than a one-time thing.
In a two-week period in the spring of 1988, the five men put together enough material for an album. The band name evolved from Harrison’s term for when a studio recording sounded funny for unknown reasons. With all five men taking aliases, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 arrived in October 1988. It became an immediate sensation, both critically loved and commercially successful.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
