The Traveling Wilbury's (Inducted
2007)
Reversing the usual process by which groups break up and give way to
solo careers, the Traveling Wilburys are a group made up of solo stars.
The group was organized by former Beatle George Harrison, former Electric
Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison,
thus representing three generations of rock stars. In 1988, the five (who
had known each other for years) came together to record a Harrison B-side
single and ended up writing and recording an album on which they shared
lead vocals. It turned out to be a way to transcend the high expectations
made of any of them as individuals, and a delighted public sent the album
to number three, with two singles, "Handle With Care" and "End
of the Line" hitting the charts. Unfortunately, Orbison died of a
heart attack only a few weeks after the album's release.
Two years later, the remaining quartet released a second album, inexplicably
titled Vol. 3. Although it didn't match the success of the first Wilburys
album, it was another million-selling hit. Throughout the '90s, there
were rumors of another Traveling Wilburys record in the works, but no
new albums from the group surfaced. Harrison and Lynne did re-team in
1995, when Lynne produced and reworked two John Lennon demos with the
Beatles for their Anthology rarities collection.
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