Travel

The History of the Traveling Wilburys

Introduction by Mo Ostin

The birth of the Traveling Wilburys was a happy accident. Warner Bros. Records' International Department had asked that George Harrison come up with a B-side for This Is Love, a single from his Cloud Nine album. At the time it was customary to couple an A-side with a never-before-heard track, giving the single extra sales value.

This was mid-1988. Cloud Nine was just out. George, along with cowriter Jeff Lynne and their friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison, had been hanging out in Dylan's studio. I suppose George figured that as long as his pals were on hand, why not use them to knock off this flipside?

A couple of days later George came by my office to play the new B-side. We went next door to A Hugh Jampton, E.F. Norti-Bitz Reader in Applied Jacket, University of Krakatoa (East of Java)