It was the "end of the line" for the great Tom Petty two weeks ago. His passing has many of us reviewing his work and, for me, especially his collaborations with others. Of course, the Traveling Wilburys rank high on Petty's or any list of epic rock collaborations. It's hard to believe that this super group comprised of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Petty rocketed into our consciousness almost 30 years ago. It's even harder to believe that three of them are now gone.
For my money the Wilburys were actually a sextet. The great session drummer Jim Keltner played with each of the Wilburys over the years as well as with John Mayer, Leon Russell, Harry Nilsson and Brian Wilson. He was the "go to" drummer for John Lennon and Ry Cooder, too. Keltner was the logical choice as the band's drummer, and you'll see him in the music video here for "End of the Line" and in all the Wilbury's videos.
"End of the Line" was the last cut from the band's first album, released in 1988. Orbison sang on the tune but, by the time the music video was shot, he had passed away of a heart attack. That's the significance of the empty rocking chair in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwqhdRs4jyA). With Orbison in the band - and they never toured, although Harrison really wanted to do so - their musical lineage had stretched from the mid-1950s to present time. Looks like they're going to need three rocking chairs now. Only Dylan and Lynne remain as well as Keltner.
The song is ostensibly about life on the road, thus the freight train motif in the video. It's nonetheless difficult not to associate it with the idea of traveling through life until its inevitable end. "Maybe somewhere down the road aways/You'll think of me, and wonder where I am these days." The day Petty died I recalled the eerie reference he made in the 2007 Peter Bogdanovich documentary "Runnin' Down a Dream" - an endurance test at four hours and 19 minutes - about the time Harrison called him after Orbison's death. He said that Harrison asked him, "Aren't you glad it wasn't you?" A weird comment, no doubt, and especially poignant since George had also passed away by that time.
As with so many things in life, the Wilburys were an accident of history. Most of you will know of Jeff Lynne from the Electric Light Orchestra. By the 1980s, however, he was playing, writing and producing in Los Angeles and worked frequently with fellow LA buddies Harrison and Petty. Harrison was having lunch one day with Lynn and Orbison and the three of them thought it would be great fun to write and record some music together. They asked Bob Dylan if his studio was available, which brought them not only the studio but Dylan himself. As the day approached to start working, Harrison realized he had left the guitar he wanted to use at Petty's house. Retrieving the guitar also retrieved Petty with it.
For my money the Wilburys were actually a sextet. The great session drummer Jim Keltner played with each of the Wilburys over the years as well as with John Mayer, Leon Russell, Harry Nilsson and Brian Wilson. He was the "go to" drummer for John Lennon and Ry Cooder, too. Keltner was the logical choice as the band's drummer, and you'll see him in the music video here for "End of the Line" and in all the Wilbury's videos.
"End of the Line" was the last cut from the band's first album, released in 1988. Orbison sang on the tune but, by the time the music video was shot, he had passed away of a heart attack. That's the significance of the empty rocking chair in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwqhdRs4jyA). With Orbison in the band - and they never toured, although Harrison really wanted to do so - their musical lineage had stretched from the mid-1950s to present time. Looks like they're going to need three rocking chairs now. Only Dylan and Lynne remain as well as Keltner.
The song is ostensibly about life on the road, thus the freight train motif in the video. It's nonetheless difficult not to associate it with the idea of traveling through life until its inevitable end. "Maybe somewhere down the road aways/You'll think of me, and wonder where I am these days." The day Petty died I recalled the eerie reference he made in the 2007 Peter Bogdanovich documentary "Runnin' Down a Dream" - an endurance test at four hours and 19 minutes - about the time Harrison called him after Orbison's death. He said that Harrison asked him, "Aren't you glad it wasn't you?" A weird comment, no doubt, and especially poignant since George had also passed away by that time.
As with so many things in life, the Wilburys were an accident of history. Most of you will know of Jeff Lynne from the Electric Light Orchestra. By the 1980s, however, he was playing, writing and producing in Los Angeles and worked frequently with fellow LA buddies Harrison and Petty. Harrison was having lunch one day with Lynn and Orbison and the three of them thought it would be great fun to write and record some music together. They asked Bob Dylan if his studio was available, which brought them not only the studio but Dylan himself. As the day approached to start working, Harrison realized he had left the guitar he wanted to use at Petty's house. Retrieving the guitar also retrieved Petty with it.
Photo courtesy of Fanart.com