How Bob Dylan and George Harrison became the Wilbary brothers

Supergroups are an interesting phenomenon in music, and there have been several of them in history. Their distinctive feature can be called the fact that all members of such groups became popular even before joining the "supergroup". The Traveling Wilburys are one of them.

Why Wilbary?

I came up with the name for the band George Harrison - former band member The Beatles and, you could say, the man who started the band's story. The Travelling Wilburys. Word "wilburys" George came up with the idea when he was recording his solo album. "Cloud Nine". The point is that when recording musical material, there are often various errors and inaccuracies that need to be eliminated in order to achieve a more pure sound. This can be done in the mixing process, which is why George often said when he was hanging out in the studio: "We''ll bury them in the mix"which translates to "We'll hide them in the mix.".

The musicians went further: they created new identities and the illusion that they were not actually those famous performers hiding under fictitious names. The joke with "wilburys" The first album cover was created when all the musicians chose pseudonyms and pretended to be half-brothers who had the same father. Charles Truscott Wilbary. The riddle had in it the following answer: now George Harrison was Nelson Wilbary, Jeff Lynn - Otis, Tom Petty - Charlie T. Jr, Roy Orbinson - Lefty, ah. Bob Dylan - Lucky. Interestingly, the idea was probably Harrison's, because it was not the first time he changed names and personalities: in 1967, when The Beatles released the album "Lucky Luckie". "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."They also used such a move. Only in this case, the members of the supergroup did a complete reincarnation: the real names of the stars did not appear anywhere, so that only loyal fans and connoisseurs could guess who was hiding behind the Wilbary brothers.

Origins

The Travelling Wilburys came into existence after a series of spontaneous events related to the George Harrison. In 1988, the musician suddenly realised that he had before him all the possibilities to become famous again after some commercial decline of his musical activity. Harrison's single with a cover of the song "The Burning Man" could be found in the charts in various countries. "Got My Mind Set On You" James Ray and the album "Cloud Nine"who was holding pretty high.

One day George got a call from Warner Bros. and reported that a b-side for a maxi-single was urgently required. "This Is Love"which he was preparing to release. Harrison then made a phone call to a friend and turned to his long-time mate and former bandleader Electric Light Orchestra To Jeff. Lynnwho had already helped The Beatles' guitarist in his work. It was difficult to find a recording studio in a short time, so Lynn suggested To Harrison go to Bob Dylan home - the singer had a tiny studio there. On the way there, George made a stop on his way to visit Toma Pettyfor whom, remarkably, the decision to embark on a musical career was predetermined after watching him perform groups The Beatles in 1964. He was now the keeper of George Harrison's own instrument! The way through Petty lying down, because he's got there was a guitar a former member of the Liverpool Four. The latter could not stay out of this interesting journey and went to see Dylan together with Harrison, whom he knew well, since Tom's band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed on tour with Bob as accompaniment. Then Jeff Lynne suggested we call the rock 'n' roll pioneer Roy Orbisonthe hit songwriter "Oh, Pretty Woman"which the other musicians were only too happy to do. Thus, during this exciting, one might say, road-movie, there appeared The Travelling Wilburys.

"Handle With Care" is the first song by the Wilbary Brothers

Five famous musicians gathered in Bob Dylan's garage to record material. There were no problems with the instrumental, but the lyrics were more interesting. George asked Bob to come up with the lyrical part and suggested to make the refrain a phrase he saw on the sticker of a cardboard box in the garage "Handle With Care.". That's how the idea for the composition was born.

Acoustic guitar, operatic style of performance OrbisonHarrison's slide guitar and Dylan's harmonica. The Warner Bros. bosses liked it very much, so the musicians decided that this single deserved something more than the fate of a B-side on a 12-inch record. So, the five-piece decided to record a full-length album with the same line-up.

"Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1"

The debut full-length record was recorded by the musicians in just 10 daysbecause Bob Dylan had to go on tour. В 1988 year under a name similar to the title of the dilemma. "Kill Bill." Quentina Tarantino, "Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1" released on the label Wilbury Records и Warner Bros. Reviews of the album have been positive, with sales in the first six months over 2 million copiesand on the chart. Billboard 200 it came in at number three, indicating the supergroup's importance in the eyes of listeners. Folk-country-rock the album was one of the top 100 albums of the '80s in the magazine. "Rolling Stones" and was even nominated for a Grammy.

"Travelling Wilburys Vol. 3"

The supergroup's second studio album was dedicated to Roy Orbison (Lefty Wilbary).who passed away shortly before the recording of the record and did not receive the same rave reviews as the previous one.

"The Traveling Wilburys Collection"

This box set was released in 2007 and contained, in addition to the two albums, a disc with video clips and a documentary film. It was a smashing success: in some European countries the compilation topped the charts. This confirms that supergroups, once released, leave a mark in the history of music...