Handle With Care: The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 at 35
A loose salute to the debut album from classic rock’s greatest supergroup
It was 35 years ago today when the Traveling Wilburys joined forces and released their debut album Vol. 1 to an unsuspecting audience of classic rock fans.
The quintet – comprised of George Harrison (Nelson), Jeff Lynne (Otis), Bob Dylan (Lucky), Roy Orbison (Lefty) and Tom Petty (Charlie T. Jr.), all working under aliases with the common surname of Wilbury – cut this record in about two weeks at Eurythmic Dave Stewart’s home studio in Los Angeles, CA.
They even came up with a whole folklore behind the brotherly bond, originally inscribed on the inside sleeve of the original LP, written by one Hugh Jampton, E.F. Norti-Bitz Reader in Applied Jacket from the “University of Krakatoa (East of Java),” who was in actuality Monty Python’s Michael Palin.
“A remarkable sophisticated musical culture developed, considering there were no managers or agents, and the further the Wilburys traveled the more adventurous their music became,” the inscription stated. “And the more it was revered by the elders of the tribe who believed it had the power to stave off madness, turn brunettes into blondes and increase the size of their ears.”
But silliness aside, what these five men recorded alongside such longtime friends as saxophonist Jim Horn and drummer Jim Keltner was an album of collaborative kismet that remains the template for the rock supergroup to this day.
VIDEO: The Traveling Wilburys “Handle With Care”
“We would arrive about twelve or one o’clock and have some coffee,” Lynne told Rolling Stone in 1989. “Somebody would say, ‘What about this?’ and start on a riff. Then we’d all join in, and it’d turn into something. We’d finish around midnight and just sit for a bit while Roy would tell us fabulous stories about Sun Records or hanging out with Elvis. Then we’d come back the next day to work on another one. That’s why the songs are so good and fresh — because they haven’t been second-guessed and dissected and replaced. It’s so tempting to add stuff to a song when you’ve got unlimited time.”
But where tracks like the album’s bookending hit singles “Handle With Care” and “End of the Line” showcased the Wilburys altogether as one entity, there’s enough individualized moments where one player takes the wheel, like Dylan’s Springsteen send-up “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” and Orbison’s yearning “Not Alone Any More,” to let you know exactly who is at the table. Then there’s a song like “Heading For The Light,” a co-write between Harrison and Lynne that feels like a seamless extension of their work together on Harrison’s Cloud Nine LP, while Petty and Orbison team up for the cheeky “Last Night.”
VIDEO: The Traveling Wilburys “End of the Line”
Orbison, sadly, would pass away from a sudden heart attack on December 6th at the age of 52, only a month-and-a-half after Vol. 1 was released. For Keltner, talking to Billboard in 2018, Roy proved to be the true glue that made the Traveling Wilburys evolve from a one-off B-side jam into a full-fledged entity.
“Roy was the absolute reason why they even came together in the first place,” he admits. “They all loved George and would have certainly come together for him. But with Roy, it was a no-brainer. The first album had this magic to it, and that was all Roy. They were all icons in their own way, but it was Roy who kept them having fun and knowing they were doing something special.”
And 35 years later, Vol. 1 remains a testament to this legendary union and the brilliance that emerges from loose fun with good pals.
- Brooklyn Funk Essentials Return with ‘Black Butterfly’ - May 19, 2026
- ‘Fallin’ for What Matters Most - May 14, 2026
- Jack Douglas ‘Rocks’ - May 13, 2026
You May Also Like
-
February 28, 2023 -
September 30, 2019 -
December 22, 2020
SUCH a great album — worth the price of admission just to hear Roy croon, “I’m so tired of being lonely / I still have some love to give” but there are golden moments aplenty for each Wilbury.
Who might today’s Wilburys be? 🤔