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 we
more

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, including 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Vol. 3 were withdrawn from the
marketplace in the mid-1990s
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
appeared set to be re-issued
through EMI. Tom Petty was
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 a
collection entitled The
Traveling Wilburys Collection,
containing both 'Vol. 1' and
'Vol. 3' (each featuring two
bonus tracks) along with a
bonus DVD, which features five
music videos and a
documentary. However, in
contrast to earlier
assumptions and claims, that
package would not be released
by EMI but by Rhino
Entertainment, which is owned
by the Warner Music Group who
originally released the two
Wilbury albums. The boxset was
released in the US on June 12,
2007 and in the UK one day
earlier (June 11, 2007). It
debuted at # 1 on the UK
Albums Chart and at # 9 on The
Billboard 200.

Category Music

Tags VHS2DVDTAS, BEATLES, ROY, ORBISON, GEORGE, HARRISON, RINGO, STARR, PAUL, McCARTNEY, JOHN, LENNON, JEFF, LYNNE, TOM, PETTY, ELO