Music Blog

Lucky, Otis, Charlie, Nelson and Lefty

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

This is Week 41 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters S or T. This is my choice.

Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Roy Orbison. Five musical giants on their own; together, a seemingly unstoppable supergroup. In their all-too-short career together, they created some incredible music, had a great time and brought a lot of joy into our lives.

They are, of course, the beloved American-British group known as the Traveling Wilburys. Formed out of friendship and spontaneity, the Traveling Wilburys would never have referred to themselves as a supergroup. Though comprised of some of the biggest names in modern music, the band was much more nonchalant than that.

It all began in 1988, when George Harrison and co-producer Jeff Lynne were tasked with recording a B-side for George’s Cloud Nine album. In need of a place to record on the fly, the two, along with friends Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, were invited over to Bob Dylan’s home studio. The resulting track was “Handle With Care,” a collaborative effort which was just too good to use as a B-side. George later said, “I liked the song so much and the way that it turned out with all these people on it that I just carried it around in my back pocket for ages thinking, ‘Well, what can I do with this thing?’ And the only thing I could think of to do was to record another nine. Make an album.”

As each member of the Wilburys was busy with their own projects, the five friends found a ten-day time frame in which to write and record an album together. Posing as a band of half-brothers (each with his own Wilbury moniker), the group enlisted Monty Python’s Michael Palin to write a fictional history of the group for the LP’s liner notes. George Harrison was “Nelson Wilbury,” Bob Dylan was “Lucky“, Roy Orbison was “Lefty“, Tom Petty was “Charlie T, Jr.”, and Jeff Lynne was “Otis”. Although not an official member of the Traveling Wilburys, Jim Keltner was the session drummer and percussionist on both their albums and was given the nickname “Buster Sidebury”. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was released in October 1988 to wide critical and commercial acclaim.After hitting #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, the certified double platinum album earned a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

Sadly, Roy Orbison passed away in December of 1988. The band reunited for one more album, dedicating it to their late friend, and wryly titling the 1990 LP, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. In 2007, a retrospective box set, The Traveling Wilburys Collection, was released. Proving the timeless appeal of the Wilburys’ music, the deluxe title hit #1 in six territories and peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200. At the time, The Traveling Wilburys Collection held the record of having the highest debut of a box set in the United States, as well as the biggest first week in sales for a box set in the UK.

The world lost an incredible talent when George Harrison died on November 29, 2001; on October 2, 2017, Tom Petty passed away. Now only Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne remain. The Wilburys never toured and were only together for a brief, magical time; however, the member’s mutual admiration for each other and genuine joy in the studio still shine through in their recordings. 

This is the Wilburys’ largest selling single, “Handle With Care”

One of my favorite Wilburys songs is “The Wilbury Twist“, the final track on their 1990 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. The song was also released in March 1991 as a single from that album and shows off the very humorous side of the group. The original music video featured cameos from many contemporary celebrities including Jimmy Nail, Woody Harrelson, Whoopi Goldberg, Fred Savage, Milli Vanilli, Cheech Marin, John Candy, Eric Idle. and others. The band and special cameos were filmed at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

Here is “The Wilbury Twist”

For my last song, I’ve chosen the one that is probably the best known. The video was filmed in Los Angeles in December 1988. Set in a moving passenger car pulled by a steam locomotive, it features the guys playing guitars and Jim Keltner playing the brushes. Roy Orbison had died after recording his vocals but before the video was made, so a shot of a guitar sitting in a rocking chair and a photo of him are shown when his vocals are heard. In the US, the single peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #2 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. In the UK, the single peaked at #52 on the UK Singles Chart. 

This is “End of the Line”

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 41 – Starsailor

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

44 thoughts on “Lucky, Otis, Charlie, Nelson and Lefty”

      1. Thanks. I think I’ve written more about them than any other band, even they only did 2 records. I love the ditty about when Petty remarked to his mother that he was in a band with Roy Orbison and she couldn’t believe it or reactions of that effect.

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  6. What an iconic Supergroup! 💖 How sad that Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Tom Petty are no longer with us. 😔Thank you for the background info and mini concert! I didn’t remember The Wilbury Twist and it was fun to see John Candy in the video. Another great one, gone much too soon.

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    1. So many greats have passed on, Debbie! Remember back in 2016/17 it seemed like every week someone else passed away. Thank goodness we have these fabulous recordings to enjoy and remind us of these amazing talents. The Wilburys will always be a supergroup to me. What a fab lineup!

      Thanks for your great comments, Deb. I’m glad to know you enjoyed the concert! 🎶😎

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    1. He is chill, isn’t he? When I saw him featured so prominently in Handle with Care, I knew I had to say a few words about him. You know, I don’t have the box set 😳 … That’s definitely going in my letter to Santa!

      Careful tripping on the road, Lizzie! 😎

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    1. Super good … that’s how good! Those guys you mention are great; I don’t think there could ever be another Traveling Wilburys. I heard that Billy Joel is thinking of starting his own Wilburys with Sting. No mention of who else would be in the group; maybe Springsteen, Young and Seger. Talk about a motley crew!

      Thanks for a great comment, Jim.

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    1. So now the truth comes out! Well, I’m honored you watched all my videos today! 😂 Truthfully, I’d be hard-pressed not to watch all the videos; these guys were simply the best! It’s like being in Harrison’s living room watching five friends jamming!

      Thanks so much, Dale!

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      1. Dude… when you leave us with twelve videos, I have to say nope 😉 I barely have time to squeeze in a shower, never mind a 3-4 minutes X 12!! 😉
        Besides, many of them I know so, it’s not like I was totally dissing 😀

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  12. I came to this having just posted a serious piece – for a change. I loved the Wilburys and played both albums to bits. Thank you for ten minutes of musical heaven to brighten my day 😊

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      1. So I saw, thank you.

        They were fantastic together and it was such a shame that Roy died almost as soon as their first album came out. Their tribute to him in the video is very poignant. Thank you for some great music 😊

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  13. I had not heard of The Traveling Wilburys. I liked The End of the Line best.
    There are times in my life when I was busy with other things and missed out on some good music. Probably raising kids instead of out raising cain.

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  14. Thank you for sharing your brilliant article about the super sensational “Traveling Wilburys”… a fascinating story and exceptional music, Nancy … Leonard Cohen sums it up superbly …

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