Full Moon Fever is the debut solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty , released on April 24, 1989, by MCA Records . It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers , notably Mike Campbell , as well as Jeff Lynne , Roy Orbison (who died prior to its release), and George Harrison , Petty's bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys . The record showcases Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences. The songwriting primarily consists of collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. Full Moon Fever became a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada.
73-541: Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1988, consisting of Bob Dylan , George Harrison , Jeff Lynne , Roy Orbison and Tom Petty . They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest supergroup of all time". Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison's 1987 album Cloud Nine , the band formed in April 1988 after
146-535: A Beatlesque feel. The songs show Petty paying dues to his influences with a Byrds cover (" Feel a Whole Lot Better ") and a nod to Del Shannon in " Runnin' Down a Dream ". Other songs, such as " Free Fallin' ", show Petty addressing nostalgia on his rise to fame. "A Mind With a Heart of Its Own" uses a Bo Diddley-style rhythm , while "The Apartment Song" features an instrumental break with paradiddle drumming reminiscent of Buddy Holly 's " Peggy Sue ". The album, which became Petty's commercial peak as an artist,
219-453: A side project for a single recording project or other ad hoc purposes, with no intention that the group will remain together afterwards. In other instances, the group may become the primary focus of the members' career. Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner credited British rock band Cream , which came together in 1966, as the first supergroup. Eric Clapton , formerly of rock band The Yardbirds and blues rock band John Mayall &
292-461: A supergroup hinges on the members already having been "successful". This itself is a subjective term, though metrics such as career earnings, records sold, number of commercial hit songs written and musician longevity can all be used to establish the objective success of a musical band and its individual members. Tyler Golsen in Far Out writes that "Today, the term “supergroup” has something of
365-440: A Whole Lot Better"), at the point where cassette or LP listeners would have to flip sides to continue. The track consists of a brief tongue-in-cheek monologue by Petty, over a background of barnyard noises (credited to Del Shannon). The interlude is not included in other physical versions of the album, though it is mentioned (as "Attention CD Listeners") in the album credits of all versions. On some later CD and digital releases, it
438-611: 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
511-487: A band together around two months into the sessions for his album, which began in early January 1987. When discussing who the other members might be, Harrison chose Bob Dylan and Lynne opted for Roy Orbison . The term "Wilbury" also originated during the Cloud Nine sessions. Referring to recording errors created by faulty equipment, Harrison jokingly remarked to Lynne, " We'll bury 'em in the mix." Thereafter, they used
584-632: A channel through which Harrison and Dylan could escape the restrictions of their serious media images, but also, in its guise as a "phantom band", a development by Harrison of the Rutles ' satirical approach to the Beatles' legacy, in this case by "de-mythologizing" rock history. Inspired by the Traveling Wilburys' success and particularly its benefit to Petty and Orbison as artists, Lenny Waronker encouraged American guitarist Ry Cooder to form
657-616: 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-inch vinyl disc with rare versions of the songs. The release debuted at number 1 in the UK and topped the albums chart in Australia, Ireland and other countries. On
730-471: A friend but also an avowed fan of Dylan's, Harrison felt the need to clear the air on the first day by saying to him: "We know that you're Bob Dylan and everything, but we're going to just treat you and talk to you like we would anybody else." Dylan replied: "Well, great. Believe it or not, I'm in awe of you guys, and it's the same for me." While most of the songs had a primary composer, all of the band members were creative equals. Petty later described Harrison as
803-531: A half stars out of five in a retrospective review, admiring the craft of the album and rivaling it with the Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes . This review notes there are no weak tracks on the album, calling it a "minor masterpiece". The 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide called Full Moon Fever a "masterful solo album". It was ranked number 92 on Rolling Stone ' s list of the 100 best albums of
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#1732772926430876-401: A kind of cruise control, but its sheer unpretentiousness and crisp, non-doctored sound make it irresistible." The Orlando Sentinel opined that "Lynne's production is sometimes a little too clean, and there's nothing earthshaking or innovative going on... But when was the last time you picked up an album this solid: tough, pretty, good rockin', no filler?" AllMusic gave the album four and
949-453: A line-up that represented four eras of rock music history and included "three indisputable gods" in Dylan, Harrison and Orbison. The editors also recognise the band as "the antithesis of a supergroup", due to the musicians' adoption of fraternal alter egos and the humour inherent in the project. AllMusic managing editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine has similarly written: "It's impossible to picture
1022-508: A negative connotation. It usually signifies a short-term vanity project that attempts to profit off members’ reputations with their past works". In 1974, a Time magazine article titled "Return of a Supergroup" quipped that the supergroup was a "potent but short-lived rock phenomenon" which was an "amalgam formed by the talented malcontents of other bands". The article acknowledged that groups such as Cream and Blind Faith "played enormous arenas and made megabucks, and sometimes megamusic", with
1095-540: A particular cause, have been common since the 1980s. The term is most common in the context of rock and pop music , but it has occasionally been applied to other musical genres . For example, opera stars the Three Tenors ( José Carreras , Plácido Domingo , and Luciano Pavarotti ) and hip hop duos Kids See Ghosts ( Kanye West and Kid Cudi ) and Bad Meets Evil ( Eminem and Royce da 5'9" ) all have been called supergroups. A supergroup sometimes forms as
1168-906: A pseudonym for Dhani Harrison . The name Ayrton was used in honour of F1 driver Ayrton Senna . Jim Horn and Ray Cooper played saxophones and percussion, respectively, on both albums. The lead guitar part on the Vol. 3 track "She's My Baby" was played by rock guitarist Gary Moore , who received the credit "Ken Wilbury". Harrison appeared as Nelson Wilbury on Warner Bros. Records ' Christmas 1988 promotional album Winter Warnerland (which also included Paul Reubens as " Pee Wee Wilbury "). In 1992, in his capacity as producer, Harrison credited himself as "Spike and Nelson Wilbury" on his live album Live in Japan . During that Japanese tour, in December 1991, Harrison credited himself as Nakihama Wilbury. The Tom Petty and
1241-414: A second Wilburys album, which they intentionally misnumbered Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 . It was preceded by a non-album single, a cover of " Nobody's Child ", which the band recorded for Olivia Harrison 's Romanian Angel Appeal charity project. The duration of the main album sessions was again dictated by Dylan's touring schedule and limited availability. Having asked Dylan to record a lead vocal for all
1314-419: A series of Wilburys albums and a film about the band, to be produced through his company HandMade , the group became dormant after 1991 and never officially reunited, though the individual members continued to collaborate on each other's solo projects at various times. Harrison died in 2001, followed by Petty in 2017, leaving Dylan and Lynne as the only surviving members. After being unavailable for several years,
1387-546: A supergroup with a stronger pedigree than that (all that's missing is a Rolling Stone ), but in another sense it's hard to call the Wilburys a true supergroup, since they arrived nearly two decades after the all-star craze of the '70s peaked, and they never had the self-important air of nearly all the other supergroups. That, of course, was the key to their charm …" Speaking to music journalist Paul Zollo in 2004, Petty agreed that humour and self-effacement had been key factors in
1460-559: A year after formation. Also in 1968 Jack Bruce joined the Tony Williams Lifetime , composed of bassist and vocalist Bruce, and three famous Miles Davis alumni: drummer Tony Williams , guitarist John McLaughlin, and keyboardist Khalid Yasin (né Larry Young ). The term may have come from the 1968 album Super Session with Al Kooper , Mike Bloomfield , and Stephen Stills . The coalition of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (formerly Crosby, Stills & Nash) in 1969
1533-536: Is a time when supergroups were experiencing a revival; established musicians looked for new platforms to express themselves, as they brought their different genres closer through collaborations that utilized their shared popularity so as to build something fresh and thrilling A contemporary example of a supergroup is FFS , a collaboration between Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand and American art rock band Sparks , Other prominent examples include Atoms for Peace and Boygenius . The very definition of
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#17327729264301606-517: Is another early example, given the success of their prior bands ( the Byrds , Buffalo Springfield , and the Hollies respectively). While the practice had declined by the 80s, in 1985 country superstars Johnny Cash , Willie Nelson , Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings formed the first country supergroup, Highwaymen , going on to achieve three chart singles. Perhaps the most decorated line-up,
1679-555: Is named "Eddie Wilbury" in that film as well. David Bone was a minor writer and also contributed to other musical scores by Jeff Lynne. Supergroup (music) A supergroup is a musical group formed of members who are already successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups. The term became popular in the late 1960s when members of already successful rock groups recorded albums together , after which they normally disbanded. Charity supergroups , in which prominent musicians perform or record together in support of
1752-469: The Concert for Bangladesh for release, Dylan's label, Columbia , presented the main stumbling block. In the album credits, the "Wilburys" joke was extended further, with the band members listed under various pseudonyms and pretending to be half-brothers – sons of a fictional Charles Truscott Wilbury Sr. During promotion for the album, Orbison played along with the mock history, saying: "Some people say Daddy
1825-548: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , although the band itself has not been inducted. Orbison and Dylan were inducted as solo artists, Harrison was inducted as a member of the Beatles and, posthumously, as a solo artist, Petty as the leader of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Lynne as a member of the Electric Light Orchestra . The whole experience was some of the best days of my life, really, and I think it probably
1898-459: The 1980s, and was ranked number 298 in the 2020 update of the magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time . In 2000. it was voted number 534 in Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums . All tracks are written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne , except where noted The original compact disc release of the album contains a hidden track in the pregap of Track 6 ("Feel
1971-763: The Bluesbreakers ; Jack Bruce , formerly of jazz / rhythm and blues band the Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers; and Ginger Baker , formerly of the GBO, formed the band in 1966, recorded four albums, and disbanded in 1968. Guitarist Clapton and drummer Baker went on to form Blind Faith , another blues rock supergroup which recruited former Spencer Davis Group and Traffic singer, keyboardist, and guitarist Steve Winwood and Family bassist Ric Grech . The group recorded one studio album before disbanding less than
2044-570: The Celebrity Theatre and recruited him for the group shortly before he went on stage. In Petty's description, Orbison performed an "unbelievable show", during which "we'd punch each other and go, 'He's in our band, too.' ... We were all so excited." From my point of view, I just tried to preserve our relationship. I worked so hard to make sure that all the guys who were in that band, and consequently on record and film, that their friendship wasn't abused. Just to preserve our friendship – that
2117-687: The Heartbreakers , toured Europe as Dylan's backing group on the Temples in Flames Tour . The friendship continued in Los Angeles later that year. There, Harrison struck up a musical rapport with Petty based on their shared love of 1950s rock 'n' roll , and Lynne began collaborating with Petty on what became Petty's debut solo album, Full Moon Fever , and writing songs with Orbison, Lynne's longtime musical hero, for Orbison's comeback album, Mystery Girl . According to Petty, Harrison's dream for
2190-689: The Heartbreakers 1992 single " Christmas All Over Again " contained a greeting that read "Merry Christmas from Nelson and Pee Wee Wilbury". Additionally, at Tom Petty Celebration in 2019, Roy Orbison Jr. was dubbed "Lefty Wilbury Jr." and Alex Orbison as "Ginger Wilbury". The Harrison-made film promoting the Traveling Wilburys, Whatever Wilbury Wilbury , lists the following credits: "Cecil Bidet Wilbury" (directed by), "Lenny W. Wilbury" (sound), "Chopper Wilbury" (editor), "Edison Wilbury" (lighting), "Evelyn Wilbury" (wardrobe), "Clyde B. Wilbury" (special effects), "Big Mac Wilbury" (catering), "Zsa Zsa Wilbury" (make-up) and "Tell M. Wilbury" (production manager). A squirrel
2263-670: The Notting Hillbillies' album and the self-titled debut by Hindu Love Gods – a band consisting of Warren Zevon and members of R.E.M. – as examples of a trend whereby, following the Wilburys' Vol. 1 , "more and more albums seem to be the rock-and-roll equivalents of bowling night." Writing in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music , Colin Larkin cites the Wilburys' contemporary skiffle as evidence of Lonnie Donegan 's continued influence on popular music long after
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2336-481: The US Billboard 200 it reached number 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. In November 2009, Genesis Publications , a company with which Harrison had been associated since the late 1970s, announced the release of a limited edition fine-bound book titled The Traveling Wilburys . Compiled by Olivia Harrison,
2409-711: The US and the CRIA certified it 6× platinum on September 18, 1991, in Canada. Critical praise was generally high. Rolling Stone compared the album favorably to the Traveling Wilburys' debut, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 , saying it has the "same restless charm", but commenting that Full Moon Fever at times seems "sprawling". The review claims the album is "another rewarding, low-key side project for Petty", giving it three-and-a-half stars out of five. The Boston Globe noted that "some Petty fans might find this album to be
2482-475: The United States. It was nominated for several awards and won the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. Liner notes on the album cover were written by Monty Python's Michael Palin under a pseudonym. Palin's essay was based on an idea by Derek Taylor , who wrote an extensive fictional history of the Wilburys family that otherwise went unused. Harrison planned a feature film about
2555-469: The Wilburys in Peter Bogdanovich 's 2007 documentary Runnin' Down a Dream , Petty said that one of the strengths behind the concept was that it was free of any intervention from record company, management or marketing concerns, and instead developed naturally from a spirit of co-operation and mutual admiration among five established artists. Author Simon Leng recognises the venture as primarily
2628-407: 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
2701-563: The Wilburys was to handpick the participants and create "the perfect little band", but the criteria for inclusion were governed most by "who you could hang out with". The five musicians also bonded over a shared appreciation of the English comedy troupe Monty Python . Harrison, who had worked with the members of Monty Python on various productions by his company HandMade Films since the late 1970s, particularly appreciated Orbison's gift for impersonation and his ability to recite entire sketches by
2774-441: The Wilburys' "leader and manager", and credited him with being a bandleader and producer that had a natural instinct for bringing out the best in people and keeping a recording session productive. As the group's producers, Harrison and Lynne directed the sessions, with Harrison often auditioning each member to decide who should sing a particular lead vocal part. The two producers then flew back to England; Lynne recalls that, throughout
2847-403: The Wilburys' success, adding: "We wanted to make something good in a world that seemed to get uglier and uglier and meaner and meaner … And I'm really proud that I was part of it. Because I do think that it brought a little sunshine into the world." Harrison said the project was an opportunity to "put a finger up to the rules" by challenging the norms associated with the music industry. Discussing
2920-482: The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame . Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 298 on its 2020 list of the " 500 Greatest Albums of all Time ". Having earlier in 1987 finished a Heartbreakers tour behind the album Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) , Petty decided to record a solo album without the Heartbreakers (similar to the arrangement between Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at
2993-554: The band Little Village and record for Warner Bros. The group – comprising Cooder, Keltner, John Hiatt and Nick Lowe – released a self-titled album in 1992. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune described the Notting Hillbillies ' Missing ... Presumed Having a Good Time as a Traveling Wilburys-type side project for Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits . Writing in New York magazine in late 1990, Elizabeth Wurtzel cited
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3066-470: The band, to be produced by HandMade and directed by David Leland , but contractual problems ended the project. Roy Orbison died of a heart attack on 6 December 1988. In tribute to him, the music video for the band's second single, " End of the Line ", shows a black-and-white framed photo of Orbison, and his guitar is shown, rocking in a chair, whenever his vocals are heard. Lynne recalled that Orbison's death in
3139-509: The book includes rare photographs, recording notes, handwritten lyrics, sketches, and first-hand commentary on the band's history, together with a foreword by Lynne. Petty, Lynne, Olivia Harrison, Barbara Orbison , Keltner and Idle were among those who attended the US launch at a Beverly Hills bookshop in March 2010. In an interview to publicise the book, Lynne expressed his sadness at the deaths of Harrison and Orbison, and reflected: "The Wilburys
3212-439: The decision on the group's future after Vol. 3 lay with Harrison. Keltner said that from his conversations with Lynne, Petty and Dylan, they were all keen to reunite, whereas Harrison wavered in his enthusiasm. After his 1991 tour of Japan – his first series of concerts since 1974 – Harrison spoke of a possible Traveling Wilburys tour: That would be something I'd like to experience. I've always played around in my own mind what
3285-473: The early 1960s. In his book Lonnie Donegan and the Birth of British Rock & Roll , Patrick Humphries describes the Wilburys as "a makeshift quintet whose roots were firmly and joyously planted in low-key, low-tech skiffle music". He credits the band with inspiring a brief revival of Donegan's "DIY skiffle", which included Knopfler's Notting Hillbillies. Each member of the Traveling Wilburys has been inducted into
3358-463: The five members united to record a bonus track for Harrison's next European single. When this collaboration, " Handle with Care ", was deemed too good for such a limited release, the group agreed to record a full album, titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 . Following Orbison's death in December 1988, the Wilburys continued as a quartet and released a second album, incongruously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 , in 1990. The release of their debut album
3431-439: The flight, he and Harrison enthused about how to turn the sparse, acoustic-based tracks into completed recordings. Overdubs and further recording took place at Harrison's studio, FPSHOT , with "Sideburys" Jim Keltner (drums), Jim Horn (saxophones) and Ray Cooper (percussion). Harrison described the band's sound as " skiffle for the 1990s". The album was released on 18 October 1988. Distributed by Warner Bros., it appeared on
3504-518: The four of us." Harrison was the most active in promoting the Wilburys, carrying out interviews well into 1989. He said he was "wait[ing] for all the other Wilburys to finish being solo artists" so that they could renew the collaboration. By contrast, according to author Clinton Heylin , Dylan appeared to give the band little attention as he focused on re-establishing himself as a live performer before recording his 1989 album Oh Mercy . In March 1990, Harrison, Lynne, Petty and Dylan reunited to work on
3577-412: The new Wilbury record label rather than on Harrison's Dark Horse label, in the interests of maintaining the group identity. Over the months following the end of recording in the summer, contractual issues had been successfully negotiated between Warner and the record companies representing Dylan, Petty, Lynne and Orbison. As was the case in 1971 when EMI prepared Harrison's multi-artist live album from
3650-466: The new songs were more developed as compositions relative to the "scraped up from jam tapes" approach to the band's debut. Vol. 3 was released on 29 October 1990. It was dedicated to Orbison, as "Lefty Wilbury", the pseudonym that Orbison had used in 1988 in honour of his hero Lefty Frizzell . The album met with less success than the previous one. According to Mo Ostin, the choice of album title came about through "George being George"; apparently Harrison
3723-424: The performances "fueled by dueling egos". However, while this "musical infighting built up the excitement ... it also made breakups inevitable." Full Moon Fever MCA Records under Irving Azoff originally refused to issue the album, believing it did not contain any hits. Azoff resigned within a few months and with new label management reviewing the album positively, they decided to release it. In 2019,
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#17327729264303796-418: The rights, did not reissue them before his death. 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 25-minute documentary entitled The True History of the Traveling Wilburys and a collection of music videos. The box set was released in three editions; the standard edition, with both CDs and DVD in
3869-557: The sessions did not make the Full Moon Fever album. "Down the Line" and "Don't Treat Me Like a Stranger" were released as B-sides. During the sessions, Petty wrote "Indiana Girl", an early draft of what would eventually become " Mary Jane's Last Dance ". The album is noted for being heavily influenced by Jeff Lynne, resulting in a cleaner and glossier version of the Heartbreakers' roots rock from previous albums. Lynne incorporated layers of keyboards and backing vocals, giving it
3942-441: The songs before his departure, Harrison was then loath to replace many of the parts, resulting in a greater prominence for Dylan as a lead singer. Although he ceded his own role as a lead vocalist to Dylan and to Petty, Harrison took over more of the production and contributed more prominently as a lead guitarist than before. Petty described the album as "a little more rough and ready, a bit more raucous" than Vol. 1 , while Dylan said
4015-540: The start of what became known as his Never Ending Tour and for Orbison's tour schedule. These sessions were held in the house of Eurythmics member Dave Stewart , in Los Angeles. The five band members sat in a circle playing acoustic guitars in Stewart's kitchen; once each song's basic track had been written and recorded there (with accompaniment from a drum machine ), the group recorded their vocals in another room, usually after dinner each night. Petty recalled that, as
4088-419: The success of his Cloud Nine album, Harrison replied: "What I'd really like to do next is ... to do an album with me and some of my mates ... It's this new group I got [in mind]: it's called the Traveling Wilburys, I'd like to do an album with them and then later we can all do our own albums again." According to Jeff Lynne , who co-produced Cloud Nine , Harrison introduced the idea of the two of them starting
4161-552: The supergroup Traveling Wilburys was formed in 1988, consisting of Bob Dylan , George Harrison , Jeff Lynne , Roy Orbison and Tom Petty . In the early 2000s, supergroups such as Audioslave and Velvet Revolver made their mark. Audioslave was created in 2001, composed of ex-members of Rage Against the Machine and Chris Cornell from Soundgarden . The members of Guns N’ Roses and Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots came together to form Velvet Revolver in 2002. This
4234-576: The term for any small error in performance. Harrison first suggested "the Trembling Wilburys" as the group's name; at Lynne's suggestion, they amended it to "Traveling Wilburys". During his Rockline interview, Harrison voiced his support for Dylan, at a time when Dylan was experiencing an artistic and commercial low point in his career. Harrison and Lynne became friends with Tom Petty in October 1987, when Petty and his band, Tom Petty and
4307-436: The time). This stirred some controversy among members of the Heartbreakers, although all but drummer Stan Lynch contributed to the album. Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein initially were not happy about playing the Full Moon Fever songs live during Heartbreakers concerts. Lynch hated playing them right up until his departure from the band, saying it made him feel like he was in a cover band. The recording process in 1988
4380-456: The track and invited Orbison to attend the session, which he then arranged to take place at Dylan's garage studio in Malibu since no professional studios were available at such short notice. Petty's involvement came about when Harrison went to retrieve his guitar from Petty's house and invited him to attend also. Working on a song that Harrison had recently started writing, the ensemble completed
4453-523: The track, which they titled " Handle with Care " after a label on a box in Dylan's garage. When Harrison presented the recording to Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker of Warner Bros., the executives insisted that the song was too good to be used as a B-side. In Petty's recollection, Harrison and Lynne then decided to realise their idea of forming a Wilburys band, and first invited him to join before phoning Dylan, who also agreed to join. That night, Harrison, Lynne and Petty drove to Anaheim to see Orbison perform at
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#17327729264304526-510: The troupe. The band came together in April 1988, when Harrison was in Los Angeles to oversee the filming of his HandMade production Checking Out . At that time, Warner Bros. Records asked Harrison for a new song to serve as the B-side for the European release of his third single from Cloud Nine , " This Is Love ". During a meal with Lynne and Orbison, Harrison asked Lynne to help him record
4599-584: The two Wilburys albums were reissued by the Harrison estate in the 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection . None of this would've happened without him. It was George's band – it was always George's band and it was a dream he had for a long time. – Tom Petty George Harrison first mentioned the Traveling Wilburys publicly during a radio interview with Bob Coburn on the show Rockline in February 1988. When asked how he planned to follow up
4672-543: The wake of Vol. 1 ' s success was "the most sickening thing to me". He added: "I was devastated for ages ... Me and Roy had had plans to do much more together, and his voice was in really good shape. It was just so sad for that to happen." Although there was speculation in the press that Del Shannon or Roger McGuinn might join the Wilburys, the remaining members never considered replacing Orbison. Lynne later said: "We'd become this unit, we were all good pals … We always knew we were going to do another one, and now it's just
4745-501: The wrong spirit. One of the most amazing things ever about the Wilburys was this poles-apart thing of Roy [Orbison] and Bob Dylan. That's what I thought was wonderful – the best singer and the best lyricist, and they're both in the same group. – Jeff Lynne In the Rolling Stone Press book The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll , the Traveling Wilburys are described as "the ultimate supergroup", with
4818-504: Was a cad and a bounder, but I remember him as a Baptist minister." Vol. 1 was a critical and commercial success, and revitalised the careers of Dylan, Orbison and Petty. As Harrison had intended, the album defied contemporary musical trends such as hip hop , acid house and synthesised pop; author Alan Clayson likens its release to "a Viking longship docking in a hovercraft terminal". The album produced two successful singles and went on to achieve triple-platinum certification for sales in
4891-493: Was a low-key affair, with many of Petty's friends contributing, including the members of the Traveling Wilburys , minus Bob Dylan . Recorded mainly in the relaxed atmosphere of Mike Campbell 's garage studio, Petty would later say it was the most enjoyable record of his career. Recording of Full Moon Fever was actually interrupted to allow time for recording of the first Wilburys' album. Two songs recorded during
4964-632: Was for us all ... The thing I guess would be hardest for people to understand is what good friends we were. It really had very little to do with combining a bunch of famous people. It was a bunch of friends that just happened to be really good at making music. – Tom Petty in The True History of the Traveling Wilburys 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
5037-453: Was helped by favorable critical reviews and three hit singles. The album was released on April 24, 1989, and rose to eventually peak at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 8 in the UK. Five singles were released from the album; two hit the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and three topped the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. The RIAA certified Full Moon Fever 5× platinum on October 5, 2000, in
5110-472: Was making a wry reference to the appearance of a bootleg that served as a sort of Volume 2 . The album's liner notes were written by Eric Idle , another Python member, who again adopted a pseudonym. For the band's final single, " Wilbury Twist ", they filmed a video in which Idle, John Candy and other comedic actors attempt to master the song's eponymous dance style. The clip was filmed in Los Angeles and completed on 28 February 1991. According to Jim Keltner,
5183-457: Was much anticipated because of the stature of the participants. The band members adopted tongue-in-cheek pseudonyms as half-brothers from the fictional Wilbury family of travelling musicians. Vol. 1 was a critical and commercial success, helping to revitalise Dylan's and Petty's careers. In 1990, the album won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group . Although Harrison envisioned
5256-434: Was such a wonderful band, such a marvellous thing to be part of. They were the best people I could ever wish to work with. Every day was like, 'Wow!' ... it was fun from day one." Jim Keltner , the session drummer and percussionist, was not officially listed as a Wilbury on either album, but was given the nickname "Buster Sidebury". Overdubs on the 2007 bonus tracks "Maxine" and "Like a Ship" were credited to "Ayrton Wilbury",
5329-511: Was the underlying contribution, I think, that I was trying to do. – George Harrison The band members decided to create a full album together, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 . Video footage of the creative process was later edited by Harrison into a promotional film for Warner Bros. staff, titled Whatever Wilbury Wilbury . The album was recorded primarily over a ten-day period in May 1988, to allow for Dylan's limited availability as he prepared for
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