The Traveling Wilburys

In the late 1980s, a remarkable thing happened. George Harrison was asked by his label to record a b-side for one of the singles from his big comeback album, Cloud Nine. Through an amazing set of circumstances, he and his producer, Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra fame), found themselves in the studio with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison! The feeling was so good that they decided, on the spot, to make a full album together, and release it under the name The Traveling Wilburys. There had been no plan - it just happened. But don't take my word for it:



For me, the story of the Traveling Wilburys is a great example of grace. These guys were friends; they loved and respected one another. And with the exception of Petty, the "relevant" phases of their careers were behind them. The pressure to make important records, to prove themselves, was gone. In its place they found freedom, creativity, spontaneity, (lots of) humor and a shared love of rock n' roll.

Listen to their records - they were finally reissued a couple months ago - the joy literally leaps out of the speakers! And what's more, there's not a trace of ego to be found! It's the kind of thing we all want in our lives (the fruit of the Spirit?), but which can never be engineered or commanded, the sort of thing we need to be surprised by.

It's worth noting that the Wilburys phenomenon poured over into each guy's solo career, resulting in number one hits for Harrison ("Got My Mind Set On You"), Orbison ("You Got It") and Petty ("Free Fallin", "Won't Back Down" - in fact, the entire Full Moon Fever record).

Here's the video for their first single, "Handle Me With Care":