Traveling Wilburys

Traveling Wilburys
The Traveling Wilburys in May 1988 (top: Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty; bottom: Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison)
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, US
Genres	Rock country rock[1] folk rock[1] roots rock[1]
Years active	1988 (1988)–1991 (1991)
Labels	Warner Bros. Records
Past members	George Harrison Jeff Lynne Tom Petty Bob Dylan Roy Orbison Jim Keltner Dhani Harrison Gary Moore Ian Wallace Jim Horn Ray Cooper Alex Orbison Roy Orbison Jr.
Website	travelingwilburys.com

Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup active from 1988 to 1991 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".^[2]

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 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, titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, in 1990.

The record's release 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 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. After being unavailable for several years, the two Wilburys albums were reissued by the Harrison estate in the 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection. The box set included a DVD containing their music videos and a documentary on the band's formation.