The Traveling Wilburys (sometimes shortened to the Wilburys) were an English–American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner.^[1] The band recorded two albums in 1988 and 1990, though Orbison died before the second was recorded.

"Wilbury" was a slang term first used by Harrison during the recording of Cloud Nine (1987) with Lynne. Referring to recording errors created by some faulty equipment, Harrison jokingly remarked to Lynne, "We'll bury 'em in the mix".^[1][2] Thereafter, they used the term for any small error in performance and the term was used again when the group were together. Harrison suggested "The Trembling Wilburys" as the group's name; instead, Lynne suggested "Traveling", with which the group agreed.^[1]

History[link]

1988–1990[link]

George Harrison first mentions The Traveling Wilburys during a radio interview with Bob Coburn on the Rockline radio station in February 1988. When asked what he planned to do as a follow-up for his Cloud Nine album, George replies: "What I'd really like to do next is... to do an album with me and some of my mates... a few tunes, you know. Maybe The Traveling Wilburys... it's this new group I got: it's called The Traveling Wilburys, I'd like to do an album with them and later we can all do our own albums again."

Starting with a meal among Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne, the group came 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 and Harrison went to get it and Petty came back with Harrison.^[3] The record label, 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. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, written by all the members, was recorded over a ten-day period in May 1988, and released on October 18. The album was recorded in the house and garden of Eurythmics member Dave Stewart.^[4] The "Wilburys" joke was extended further, with the band members credited under various pseudonyms and pretending to be half-brothers – sons of a fictional Charles Truscott Wilbury, Sr.^[5]

The album was a critical and commercial success, spawning several successful singles and eventually reaching triple-platinum sales status in the US. The album was nominated for several awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1989.

Roy Orbison's death on December 6, 1988, brought the end of the original lineup. In tribute to Orbison, during the music video for "End of the Line", when Orbison sings, his guitar is shown rocking in a chair as the rest of the group play, followed by a brief shot focusing on a framed picture of him. Following Orbison's death, Jeff Lynne collaborated with Del Shannon on his album Rock On, which spawned rumors that Shannon would join the group.^[6]

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.

The final studio album by the Wilburys, intentionally misnumbered Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, was released on October 30, 1990, but met with less success than the previous one. In the booklet contained in the 2007 box set, the album title is credited to "George being George";^[7] apparently Harrison was making a wry reference to the appearance of a bootleg that served as a sort of "Volume 2".^[8]

After his 1991 tour of Japan, George spoke of a Traveling Wilburys tour,

The Wilburys tour never came about. Petty said about the Wilburys touring,

2007[link]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the two Traveling Wilburys albums had limited availability and were out of print in most areas. Harrison, as primary holder of the rights, did not reissue them before his death in 2001. 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" vinyl disc with rare versions of the songs.

The release debuted at #1 in the UK album charts^[9] and the Australian album charts.^[10] 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.

Line-ups[link]

Volume 1

• "Nelson Wilbury" – George Harrison
• "Otis Wilbury" – Jeff Lynne
• "Lefty Wilbury" – Roy Orbison
• "Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr" – Tom Petty
• "Lucky Wilbury" – Bob Dylan

Volume 3

• "Spike Wilbury" – George Harrison
• "Clayton Wilbury" – Jeff Lynne
• "Muddy Wilbury" – Tom Petty
• "Boo Wilbury" – Bob Dylan

Additional Traveling Wilburys named in the 2007 collection:

• "Buster Sidebury" – Jim Keltner
• "Ayrton Wilbury" – Dhani Harrison

Keltner, the session drummer and percussionist, was not listed as a Wilbury in Volume 1 or Volume 3; however, he is in all of the music videos. In the DVD released in 2007, he is given the Wilbury nickname "Buster Sidebury". Overdubs to the bonus tracks "Maxine" and "Like a Ship" credit "Ayrton Wilbury", a pseudonym for Dhani Harrison.^{[citation needed]} The pseudonym Ayrton was used in honor of the Harrisons' late family friend Ayrton Senna.^{[citation needed]}

The lead guitar on the song "She's My Baby" (on Volume 3) was played by rock guitarist Gary Moore.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

Other charted songs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Traveling Wilburys
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official website
• Official book microsite (with Wilburys photos, lyric sheets and quotes)
• Traveling Wilburys
• Comprehensive fan site
• Entry at VH1.com
• Documentary on the Traveling Wilburys