Traveling Wilburys, “End of the Line” from Volume One (1989): One Track Mind
You would think that a supergroup featuring Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty would rack up massive hit singles.
Yet their band, the Traveling Wilburys, peaked at only No. 63 with “End of the Line.” The second single to be pulled from the October 1988 release Volume One, “End of the Line” still sounds fresh today. Its infectious, rollicking rhythm suggests traveling with buddies on a beautiful day.
The Traveling Wilburys’ story began in 1988 in the wake of George Harrison’s hugely successful comeback album Cloud Nine. Harrison was about to release another single from the album, the breezy “This Is Love,” and needed a B-side for the track. As fate would have it, Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty were hanging out in Bob Dylan’s studio, and Harrison suggested that they record a song together.
When George Harrison presented the resulting song “Handle with Care” to his record label, then-president Mo Ostin loved it so much that he urged the ex-Beatles star to expand the experience into an entire album. According to Ostin, Harrison took full charge of the project.
The name “Traveling Wilburys” derives from Harrison and Lynne (who produced Cloud Nine) calling studio equipment “wilburys”; later, Lynne suggested adding “traveling” to the name instead of their working title “trembling.” Upon release, Volume One and its lead single, the aforementioned “Handle with Care,” became instant hits and drew great critical acclaim. Unfortunately, Roy Orbison passed away only a few weeks after Volume One debuted. He was represented by an empty rocking chair in the video for “End of the Line.”
By: Kit O'Toole
Source: Something Else Reviews
