(Credits: Far Out / The Traveling Wilburys)
Sun 26 October 2025 20:15, UK
Joining the Traveling Wilburys should have been a no-brainer.
The most coveted musicians on the bloody planet were together in one supergroup. Most would jump at any opportunity to name-drop the likes of George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne. If you passed one in the street, it would’ve been a story to dine out on for a lifetime. So, the chance to perform alongside them? There’s not one single silly bastard who’d turn that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity down, right?
Not quite. When Harrison founded the mythical group, he was desperate to make music in a light-hearted, fun and collaborative way, egos out the door. A chance to strip everything back and uncover the essence of music again: community, care, friendship, love. Believe it or not, Roy Orbison wasn’t so convinced.
The group was pulled together in 1988, and therein lies part of the problem. Orbison had a cracking career in the 1960s. But, like all good things, it all started going downhill in the 1970s. A stint of poor album sales meant that even collaborations with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Emmylou Harris didn’t do enough to keep him at the top.
Even worse, his wife passed away in 1966 as a result of a tragic motorbike accident. He battled through the grief, but things went from bad to worse when two of his sons died in a house fire only two years on from the death of his wife, Claudette Frady. No music could begin to re-fill the hol,e such a tragedy would burn right through the foundations of his life.
Nonetheless, Harrison was adamant that the skill and sheer pipes belonging to Orbison simply had to be included in his supergroup. The idea first came to him slowly, when working with Lynne on Harrison’s 1987 album, Cloud Nine. They had an absolute blast working on the project together. And no one needed that organic type of fun than Orbison, who hadn’t quite formed a booming social circle for himself.
According to Orbison’s son, Roy Jr, Harrison pretty much begged Orbison to be in the band, even if his musical image wasn’t on par with the rest of the gang at that time. Harrison spared nothing, believing in Orbison more than the singer believed in himself.
Roy Jr reminisced about Harrison’s persuasive invitation, sharing that Harrison literally “got down on one knee and asked [Roy Orbison] if he wanted to be in his band”. If you’re taken aback by that image, so was Rob’s son. Especially, he added, as it “showed such humility. He didn’t kneel before anyone.”
After a resounding yes to the makeshift proposal, Orbison was lucky enough to share eight months with the musical legends and cement his own name right up there with the greats. He had eight months of officially being a Traveling Wilbury, before passing away from a heart attack only a month after their debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, was officially released.
Related Topics