Traveling Wilburys
| Traveling Wilburys | |
|---|---|
 The Traveling Wilburys, 1988. L–R: Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Tom Petty. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Malibu, California |
| Genres | Folk rock, Rock, Country rock, Heartland rock |
| Years active | 1988–1990 |
| Labels | Wilbury/Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | The Beatles, The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
| Website | Official website |
| Past members | |
| Bob Dylan George Harrison Jeff Lynne Tom Petty Roy Orbison Jim Keltner Dhani Harrison |
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The Traveling Wilburys (sometimes shortened to the Wilburys) were an Anglo-American supergroup consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner.[1] The band recorded two albums between 1988–1990, although Roy Orbison died before the second album was recorded.
"Wilburys" was a slang term first used by Harrison during the recording of Cloud Nine with Jeff Lynne; Harrison, referring to recording errors created by some faulty equipment, 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 entire supergroup was together. Harrison suggested "The Trembling Wilburys" as the group's name; instead, Lynne suggested "Traveling", with which the group agreed.[1] The American spelling of "Traveling" rather than the British spelling "Travelling" was used because the band was formed in the US and consisted of three Americans versus two Britons.
Contents |
History
1988–1990
Starting at 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 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 "Wilburys" joke was extended further, with the band members credited under various pseudonyms, all half-brothers – sons of a fictional Charles Truscott Wilbury, Sr. 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 photo is shown followed by a shot of his guitar rocking in a rocking chair.
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 name is credited to "George being George".[4]
After his 1990 tour of Japan, George spoke of a Traveling Wilburys tour, "That would be something I'd like to experience. I've always played around in my own mind what a Wilburys tour could be. Would each person do a solo set and then do Wilburys at the end, or would we all go right on from beginning to end and make everything Wilburys? It's an intriguing thought. We could have a great band up there and the four of us could play acoustic if we wanted to. We could all sing "Blowin' In The Wind" and Bob could sing "Something". Or we could just sing our individual songs and make them Wilbury tunes, as if we'd recorded them that way. Whatever it was, we could do it." The Wilburys tour never came about. Petty said about the Wilburys touring, "I think it would work, if we wanted to do it. I don't think we ever considered it, really. There were a lot of nights when the conversation would roll around to that. But I don't think anybody ever took it seriously. I think it would ruin it in a way. Then you're obligated to be responsible and it's not in the character of that group. It would make it very formal and that would be the wrong spirit."
2007
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 surprised many when it debuted at #1 in the UK Album Charts[5] and the Australian album charts.[6] 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:
- "Nelson Wilbury" – George Harrison
- "Otis Wilbury" – Jeff Lynne
- "Lefty Wilbury" – Roy Orbison
- "Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr." – Tom Petty
- "Lucky Wilbury" – Bob Dylan
The Traveling Wilburys of Volume 3 were:
- "Spike Wilbury" – George Harrison
- "Clayton Wilbury" – Jeff Lynne
- "Muddy Wilbury" – Tom Petty
- "Boo Wilbury" – Bob Dylan
Additional named Traveling Wilburys on the 2007 Collection were:
- "Buster Sidebury" – Jim Keltner
- "Ayrton Wilbury" – Dhani Harrison
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". Overdubs to the bonus tracks "Maxine" and "Like a Ship" credit "Ayrton Wilbury", a pseudonym for Dhani Harrison.
The lead guitar on the song "She's My Baby" (on Volume 3) was played by rock guitarist Gary Moore.
Discography
| Year | Album | Chart positions [7][8][9][10] | Certifications | Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | AUS | US[11] | CAN[12] | |||
| 1988 | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 3x Multi-Platinum | 6x Platinum | Wilbury Records |
| 1990 | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 | 11 | 14 | 14 | Platinum | Platinum | |
| 2007 | The Traveling Wilburys Collection | 9 | 1 | 1 | Gold | — | |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions[13][14][8][9][15] | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US Rock |
US AC |
UK Singles |
AUS | |||
| 1988 | "Handle with Care" | 45 | 2 | 30 | 21 | 3 | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 |
| ♦ "Last Night" | — | 5 | — | — | — | ||
| 1989 | ♦ "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" | — | 41 | — | — | — | |
| "End of the Line" | 63 | 2 | 28 | 52 | 12 | ||
| ♦ "Heading for the Light" | — | 7 | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "Nobody's Child" | — | — | — | 44 | — | Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal |
| "She's My Baby" | — | 2 | — | 79 | 45 | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 | |
| ♦ "Inside Out" | — | 16 | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | "Wilbury Twist" | — | 46 | — | — | — | |
"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released in that country
"♦" denotes album tracks that charted but not commercially released as singles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ostin, Mo (2007). "The True History of the Traveling Wilburys", p. 2 [CD booklet]. Album notes for The Traveling Wilburys Collection by Traveling Wilburys. Wilbury Records.
- ↑ ""The History of the Traveling Wilburys", Traveling Wilburys official site". http://www.travelingwilburys.com/history/. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ↑ Smax, Willy (2007). Album notes for The True History of the Travelling Wilburys by Traveling Wilburys [DVD].
- ↑ Ostin, Mo (2007). "The True History of the Traveling Wilburys", p. 3 [CD booklet]. Album notes for The Traveling Wilburys Collection by Traveling Wilburys. Wilbury Records.
- ↑ "Wilburys are UK album number one". BBC News. June 17, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6761757.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ↑ "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Record Industry Association". http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1A50. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ↑ allmusic ((( Traveling Willburys > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.everyhit.com/
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.chartstats.com/
- ↑ Traveling Wilburys albums chart history - australian-charts.com
- ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by the Traveling Wilburys
- ↑ http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5895&model.vnuAlbumId=61386
- ↑ allmusic ((( Traveling Willburys > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)))
- ↑ Traveling Wilburys singles chart history - australian-charts.com
External links
- Official site
- Official Book microsite (with Wilburys photos, lyric sheets and quotes)
- Traveling Wilburys
- Comprehensive fan site
- Entry at VH1.com
- Documentary on the Traveling Wilburys
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Book:Traveling Wilburys
Category:Traveling Wilburys
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