May 7, 1988 was a big day for the Ginleys. We tied the knot on that auspicious date. What we didn't know at the time was on that very same day, the Traveling Wilburys were born.
At the library recently, I took out The True History of the Traveling Wilburys, a 3-disc set that included a documentary about the forming of the band. Although I'm a big Beatles fan – be they together or apart – I hadn't seen this documentary before. And it was definitely worth a watch.
For those who aren't familiar with The Traveling Wilburys, it was initiated by George Harrison, whose original intention was to noodle around with his mates and create a song for the B-side of one of his solo tunes. It went so well, he suggested the group put an album together.
The members of the original Wilburys were:
Nelson Wilbury: George Harrison
Otis Wilbury: Jeff Lynne
Lefty Wilbury: Roy Orbison
Charlie T. Jr.: Tom Petty
Lucky Wilbury: Bob Dylan
Plus Buster Sidebury (Jim Keltner, session drummer)
Having watched the making of Let It Be, it was interesting how similar the Wilburys documentary was, although at 25 minutes, it was far more succinct than the Beatles' extravaganza.
The upshot of the Wilburys biopic was, a bunch of very talented musicians (aka rock legends) got together to write and record some amazing tunes at Dave Stewart's* house. The album was recorded over the course of six weeks.
Watching the film, there's no sense of friction at all, no clashing egos. Just a bunch of guys getting together to create music. There's Roy Orbison, strumming away in the corner, creating You're Not Alone. When he and his golden throat got behind the microphone, I felt the tears coming. Orbison had a heart attack and passed away just six weeks after the album's release.
A second Traveling Wilburys album came followed two years later. The Wilburys changed personas:
Spike: George Harrison
Clayton: Jeff Lynne
Muddy: Tom Petty
Boo: Bob Dylan
Only two of the remaining members remain. George Harrison died in 2001 and Tom Petty in 2017.
The likes of the Wilburys will never be seen again.
*If you're like me, you didn't know that Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics) provided the setting for the original Wilbury recordings. George was living at Stewart's house in Encino, California at the time, and it had a small recording studio the band used to capture their music.
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