Traveling Wilburys

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Traveling Wilburys

Background information
Origin Malibu, California
Genre(s) Folk rock
Rock
Label(s) Wilbury/Warner Bros.
Website Official website
Former members
George Harrison
Jeff Lynne
Bob Dylan
Tom Petty
Roy Orbison

Traveling Wilburys was a supergroup consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.[1] The band recorded two albums during the two years they were together.

"Wilburys" was a slang term coined by Harrison and Lynne during the recording of Cloud Nine as a reference to recorded "flubs" that could be eliminated during the mixing stage (i.e. "'We'll bury' them in the mix").[1] The term was used again when the entire group was together. Harrison suggested "The Trembling Wilburys" as the group's name, instead Lynne suggested "Traveling", which was agreed on by the group.

Contents

History

1988–1990

Starting at a meal between Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne, the group got together at Bob Dylan's home studio in Malibu, California, to record an additional track as a B-side for the single release of Harrison's "This Is Love". Tom Petty's involvement came by chance as Harrison had left his guitar at Petty's house. The band, however, decided that the song that resulted, "Handle with Care", was too good to be released as a "single filler".

The members enjoyed working together so much that they decided to create a full album together under various pseudonyms; all sons of Charles Truscott Wilbury, Sr. and half brothers. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, written by all the members, was recorded over a ten-day period—as Dylan was scheduled to leave on a tour—in May 1988 and released on October 18. It was ranked #70 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Albums of the 80's and nominated for Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1990.

The death of Roy Orbison on December 6, 1988 prevented further full collaborations, but the band did continue. In tribute to Orbison, during the video for "End of the Line" at a point when Orbison sings, his guitar is shown in a rocking chair followed by a photo of him.

The Traveling Wilburys contributed the title track, "Nobody's Child", to the Romanian Angel Appeal benefit album "Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal", released on July 24, 1990. A second Wilbury's album, the intentionally misnumbered Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 was released on October 30, 1990, but met less success than the first one. Harrison once claimed in an MTV interview that the band had written material for a "Vol. 2", but the material was stolen before completion.[citation needed] Another reason offered for the lack of a "Vol. 2" is that Tom Petty's 1989 release, "Full Moon Fever," featured George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne, making it a de facto Wilburys album.[citation needed] The "official" story (from the perspective of the fictional Wilbury family) is that Vol. 3 was written and performed by a different set of Wilburys (hence the new Wilbury names), and that they skipped Vol. 2 so that title could be used if the original band ever reunites.[citation needed] This was a final nod to Orbison, effectively saying that the original band could never reunite.[citation needed] In the booklet contained in the 2007 box set, the album name is credited to 'George being George'.

2007

In the late 90s and early 2000s, the two Traveling Wilburys albums had limited availability and were out of print in most territories. Harrison, as primary holder of the rights, did not reissue them prior to his 2001 death. In June 2007, the two albums were reissued as The Traveling Wilburys Collection, a box set including both albums on CD (with bonus tracks) and a DVD featuring a twenty-four minute band documentary and a collection of music videos.

The box set was released in three editions; the standard edition, with both CDs and DVD in a double Digipak package and a 16-page booklet; a "deluxe" boxed edition with the CDs and DVD and an extensive 40-page booklet, artist postcards, and photographs; or a "deluxe" boxed edition on vinyl. This version omits the DVD, but adds a 12" with rare versions of the songs. Additionally, the iTunes Store carries a digital version which features both albums, the documentary, and videos.

The release surprised many when it debuted at #1 in the UK Album Charts.[2] It also debuted at #1 on the United World Chart, and reached the same on the Australian album charts,[3] Amazon's pre-order and sales lists, and iTunes. On the US Billboard 200 it reached #9. The collection sold 500,000 copies worldwide during the first three weeks and remained in the UK top 5 for seven weeks after its release.

Members

The Traveling Wilburys of Volume 1 were:

The Traveling Wilburys of Volume 3 were:

Additional named Traveling Wilburys on the 2007 Collection were:

Jim Keltner, the session drummer and percussionist, was not listed as a Wilbury in Volume 1 or 3; however he is in some of the music videos. In the DVD released in 2007, he is given the Wilbury nickname 'Buster Sidebury'. Furthermore, overdubs to the unreleased tracks "Maxine" and "Like a Ship" credit Ayrton Wilbury, a pseudonym for Dhani Harrison. The lead guitar on the song "She's My Baby" (from Volume 3) was played by blues guitarist Gary Moore.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

  • "Handle with Care" - October 1988 - AUS #3, Canada #3, UK #21, US #45 (Mainstream Rock #2, Adult Contemporary #30) (Also re-issued on vinyl in June 2007)
  • "Last Night" - December 1988 - US # - (Mainstream Rock #5)
  • "End of the Line" - February 1989 - AUS #12, Canada #11, UK #52, US #63 (Mainstream Rock #2, Adult Contemporary #28)
  • "Heading For The Light" - April 1989 - US # - (Mainstream Rock #7)
  • "Nobody's Child" - June 1990 - UK #44
  • "She's My Baby" - October 1990 - AUS #45, Canada #30, UK #79, US # - (Mainstream Rock #2)
  • "Wilbury Twist" - January 1991 - Canada #86
  • "Inside Out" - January 1991 - Canada #50, US # - (Mainstream Rock #16)

Common bootlegs

  • Traveling Wilburys Vol. 2 (1989 demos and extended songs from Vol. 1) Note that Full Moon Fever is often erroneously but understandably described or advertised as Vol. 2.
  • Traveling Wilburys Vol. 4 (1990 out-takes from Vol. 3)
  • Rare Studio Sessions

References

  1. ^ a b "Traveling Wilburys Questions - Traveling Wilburys Information" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  2. ^ "BBC NEWS" (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
  3. ^ "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Record Industry Association" (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-11-13.

External links

v • d • e
Traveling Wilburys
Bob Dylan • George Harrison • Jeff Lynne • Roy Orbison • Tom Petty
Studio albums
Compilations
Charity albums
Singles
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_Wilburys"

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