Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

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Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

Studio album by Traveling Wilburys
Released	24 October 1988
Recorded	April - May 1988
Genre	Rock
Length	36:22
Label	Wilbury/Warner Bros.
Producer(s)	Otis and Nelson Wilbury
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link
Traveling Wilburys chronology
	Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988)	Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990)

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is the debut album by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys and was recorded and released in 1988 to enormous commercial success and critical acclaim.

1 Background
2 The album
3 Track listing
4 Personnel
- 4.1 Additional personnel
5 Charts
6 Awards
7 Certifications

[edit] Background

In the afterglow of George Harrison's 1987 comeback album Cloud Nine, he initiated a musical jam early the following year between friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Lynne was involved in producing songs for Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl album and invited him along. At the jam session, an idea was proposed to record a one-off album together under the name of Traveling Wilburys. Masquerading as the Wilbury brothers, the participants would be known as Nelson (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Lucky (Dylan), Lefty (Orbison) and Charlie T. Jnr (Petty).

With Harrison having the greatest claim to the band, he signed them up to Warner Bros. Records, his current label, and incorporated their own Wilbury Records label, in addition to producing the sessions with Lynne that spring.

[edit] The album

In October, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (so named because of the unlikelihood of there being another) was released, preceded by "Handle with Care" as the lead single. Although the single did not scale the pop charts (it stalled at US #45), the album did, reaching #16 in the UK and an impressive #3 in the US. With over forty weeks on the charts, the album was later certified double-platinum. While Harrison and Petty had had recent successes, Dylan, Orbison and Lynne had not seen an album climb that high in several years. At the time, no Dylan album had ever achieved two million in sales. As one critic put it, it was "one of the great commercial coups of the decade."

Most critics said the group's modest ambitions were fresh and relaxing. During 1989 and 1990 the album won many accolades, not least a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

Orbison suddenly died of a heart attack on 6 December 1988, surprising much of the music industry and press. The sleeve cover for "End Of The Line", the group's second single, was photographed four days after Orbison's death. Depicting a guitar in Orbison's rocking chair, it was taken as a tribute. As for Orbison, this album was released at the same time as his Mystery Girl album in 1989, and both their success made Orbison one of two singers (Elvis Presley being the other) to have two albums both reach the charts posthumously.

Both Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and its unexpected 1990 follow-up Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 were deleted in the mid-1990's with rights reverting to Harrison and his estate after his 2001 death. With all of his solo catalogue having reverted to EMI after almost twenty years with Warner Bros. Records, who distributed his Dark Horse Records label, both Traveling Wilburys albums appear set to be re-issued through EMI. Tom Petty was recently quoted to have said that they would be re-released in late 2005, though nothing became of these claims until March 20, 2007, when Billboard reported the upcoming release of both "Volume 1" and "Volume 3" along with a bonus DVD, containing five music videos and a documentary.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by the Traveling Wilburys.

"Handle with Care" – 3:20
"Dirty World" – 3:30
"Rattled" – 3:00
"Last Night" – 3:48
"Not Alone Any More" – 3:24
"Congratulations" – 3:30
"Heading for Light" – 3:37
"Margarita" – 3:15
"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" – 5:30
"End of the Line" – 3:30

[edit] Personnel

Otis Wilbury – bass, keyboards, guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
Nelson Wilbury – guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
Charlie T. Jnr – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
Lefty Wilbury – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
Lucky Wilbury – acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocals, backing vocals

[edit] Additional personnel

Jim Keltner – drums
Jim Horn – saxophones
Ray Cooper – percussion
Ian Wallace – Tom toms on "Handle with Care"

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1988	The Billboard 200	3

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	"Handle with Care"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	2
1988	"Handle with Care"	The Billboard Hot 100	45
1988	"Last Night"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	5
1989	"End of the Line"	Billboard Adult Contemporary	28
1989	"End of the Line"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	2
1989	"End of the Line"	The Billboard Hot 100	63
1989	"Heading for Light"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	7

[edit] Awards

Year	Award	Album/Track
1989	Grammy Award – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (album)	Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

[edit] Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
BPI – UK	Gold	November 24, 1988
RIAA – USA	Gold	January 4, 1989
RIAA – USA	Platinum	January 4, 1989
BPI – UK	Platinum	January 20, 1989
RIAA – USA	Double Platinum	March 1, 1989
RIAA – USA	Triple Platinum	August 4, 1994
CRIA – Canada	6X Platinum	May 26, 2003