Del Shannon: The Traveling Wilbury that never was
While the original lineup of the Traveling Wilburys needs very little introduction or preface as to what they all achieved in their respective solo careers before the group formed, there is perhaps more to the history of the band than most might imagine outside of the stories of the five megastars that joined forces to create “the ultimate supergroup”.
Formed in 1988 as a means of George Harrison being able to record an album alongside his friends, he first recruited the talents of ELO’s Jeff Lynne, having been at work with him on his own solo release, before they added the remaining members in Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Their debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, was released in October of the same year, but tragedy befell the band only two months later, with the sudden passing of Orbison in December 1988.
There was plenty of speculation as to who would be the most appropriate person to fill the shoes of ‘The Big O’, or if the band would even opt to replace the deceased Orbison at all. Several names were thrown around in conjecture, such as The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, but one more surprising name that was touted as a possible recruit was Del Shannon, a prolific songwriter who had achieved worldwide success in 1961 with his debut single, ‘Runaway’, reaching number one in both the UK and US.
Having worked with both Petty and Lynne in the past, Shannon felt like an easy fit for the group, but his decreased output in the ‘70s and ‘80s was a cause for concern, and his dwindling notoriety having not had a top 40 hit since 1981, and 1965 before that, caused some people suspicion as to whether he would be able to take on such a prominent role in music again.
Shannon had also lived a very troubled life in the years since his heyday in the early ‘60s, suffering from alcoholism and depression throughout much of his career. He did manage to quit drinking in 1978, when he began work on his album Drop Down and Get Me alongside Petty. The album, while featuring his comeback hit ‘Sea of Love’, did take two years to complete and a further two years to be released due to the collapse of his label, RSO Records, and this paltry return did lead many to feel sceptical about whether Shannon was up to the task.
Unfortunately, Shannon’s problems continued to haunt him at the time when the Wilburys had just lost Orbison, and while Shannon was still pushing himself to complete his own work and perform shows, his own health was beginning to deteriorate in concerning ways. After being prescribed Prozac by his doctor in January 1990 to combat his worsening depression, he ended up taking his life the following month, leaving no note or goodbye message for his widow.
While the Wilburys insisted at the time that there was no way they would ever have recruited anyone else to replace the late Orbison, citing their closeness as a unit and desire to continue writing and recording as a four-piece, they would pay tribute to Shannon by recording a cover of ‘Runaway’ during the recording sessions for their second and final album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. Lynne was also a producer on the posthumously released final album from Shannon, the 1991 release Rock On.
Just as Rock On marked the end of Shannon’s career as an artist, the Wilburys also called it a day in the same year. While it’s a fascinating story of what might have been, and how things might have sounded with Shannon in place of Orbison, it’s also one fraught with tragedy and the heartbreaking loss of two artists who had an incredible impact on the history of rock and roll.
