The Traveling Wilburys: The Biography

by Nick Thomas

The Traveling Wilburys were formed in 1988 when five rock legends joined forces for an informal recording session inside a cluttered garage in Los Angeles. The five seasoned musicians – Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison – had gathered to write and record what was intended as a throwaway B-side track. After Harrison submitted the completed song to his record company, he was told that it was too good to be hidden away on the flip side of a European single. Instead, he was instructed to regroup with his fellow musicians and to record an entire album of songs. But for the newly formed supergroup, there was no roadmap, no detailed plan, no record company involvement and no expectation of success. Nicknamed the Billion Dollar Quintet, the five musical legends could all speak of their own individual achievements, their own musical triumphs, as well as their own extended periods of fan indifference. Some of the members had already establishment close knit relationships, while others barely knew each other. This book chronicles how the Traveling Wilburys were formed, what went into the making of their two hit albums and why they never toured. The book also examines how the careers and personal lives of these five men overlapped as well as how they influenced one another. Lastly, this book looks at the group’s musical legacy.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

69 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2017

Reviews

[Tim Loeffelholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What A Band

I was always a fan of each member alone, but to come together as a super group seems unimaginable. I agree with what was said in the end of this book; there just seems to be so much unfinished music. One by one they have faded away, so thank the Music Gods that graced us with these two albums.

I think this book does an excellent job of summarizing where the Wilburys came from by explaining how each of their paths crossed outside of the band. I have to agree there isn't much more to say about a band that only spent 20 days together as a studio band; this book says it all. Kudos to Nick Thomas for a job well done!

[Debbie Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gratefully, there is a book about The Traveling Wilburys. It's appropriate that the book is short and sweet -- much like the Wilbury's career. The author manages to pack much information into a book less than 100 pages, and we are more knowledgable musically speaking about the individual musicians who made up the group and the group itself. He manages to capture the personality of each musician so that readers really feel they know George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty.

[John Deardurff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The supergroup Traveling Wilburys consisted of Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. Sadly, three of the five have passed on, but this was a great collaboration of five friend getting together to play some music. The book is exactly what it needs to be, a quick overview of how the everyone met and worked together to form the band. A decent Sunday afternoon read.

[mike wooldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great group and came theaters as one. I enjoyed reading individual stories of each member of the group.

Great book. Would of Liked more photos in it. So sad so many have passed away.Long live the Wilburys. Great.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anecdotal history of the Traveling Wilburys.

I enjoy reading these types of stories about my favorite musicians - how they cross paths, become friends and then "hey let's start a band!".

Very quick read and a lot of fun.

[Kevin Gilhooly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summary

You can’t write a long book about a band that only put out two albums. For those that knew the story, there’s not a lot to add. For those who found the albums and wondered how the Wilburys ever ended up as band mates, this book does a good job of explaining it.

[Justin Cardinal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for a fuller story of the band, and the book certainly gave that. Lower rating due to countless typos and sentence fragments that made me keep having to double back to parse what was being written.

[Melissa A Nurrenbrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story about a great band at a great time

There were many nuggets of information that I had never been aware of. So sad the loss of three of the best voices of multiple generations.

[Linda Slonecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superband

I love all these guys and the Wilburys and I liked the history of their coming together and making two good albums, and then their gone. Fantastic story.

[Vincent Cervoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilbury no Twist

Is this really all there was to know? While this is an informative read, I feel like it scratched (deeply into) the surface. Well written.

[Mark Luongo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting little book I found in the local library that speaks to the who, what, where, why and how this band of legends came about.

[Alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

plz let this be the next biopic and plzzzzz let me be george