The decision Tom Petty said would have “destroyed” The Traveling Wilburys
For Tom Petty, the opportunity to be a part of The Traveling Wilburys was a dream come true. Not only was he in a band with George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Bob Dylan — four musicians he idolised greatly — but they built up a special rapport, which meant more to Petty than any music they made during their tenure.
Harrison was responsible for bringing the rock royalty together under the umbrella of The Traveling Wilburys. He previously teamed up with Lynne on his solo album Cloud Nine, which reignited his passion for creating music, and when they returned to the studio, Harrison invited a series of famous friends for the ride. Understandably, when a Beatle comes calling, any artist in their right mind drops everything to be part of the project.
The initial successful studio session filled a void in Harrison’s life that had been empty since The Beatles parted ways close to two decades prior. Rather than allow a good thing to go to waste, Harrison seized the opportunity before him to formalise The Traveling Wilburys and create an album.
Together, they released two albums. However, the latter record was without Roy Orbison, who sadly passed away in 1988. His bandmates continued to keep the flame alive in light of his death but ultimately only made one more LP. Ultimately, The Travelling Wilburys was nothing more than a highly publicised side project, and each of the four members had other commitments outside of the band, which brought their tenure to an end. There was no fallout or disagreement over creative differences; it just reached its natural conclusion.
While they were named The Travelling Wilburys, they famously didn’t travel. Although there were discussions regarding the possibility, and Petty was especially keen to tour with the group, it never came to fruition. Despite his desire to play live with his friends, the singer-songwriter also saw the other side of the coin and understood that it was ultimately the right decision.
For Petty, The Traveling Wilburys was a source of joy, which made him start making music for the right reasons once again. He told Rolling Stone in 1991: “To be honest, we didn’t give a shit how we were perceived by other people. That was nothing more than a bunch of guys making an honest attempt at having fun. Rock got so over-intellectualized for a while. The Wilburys just refused to take themselves seriously.”
As fun was the only remit on the agenda, Petty understood that touring may have placed that at high risk, adding, “We might have destroyed the spirit of the thing.”
He then said that “a lot of money was offered to us”, and he “kept getting down on my knees in front of George, saying, ‘Please! It’s so much money.’ And everybody would just start laughing.” However, Harrison wasn’t interested, and Petty also agreed with the Beatle that he couldn’t imagine “waking up in a hotel in Philadelphia and having to do a Wilburys sound check.”
Although touring seems like the dream job from the outside looking in, much more goes into making it work than merely putting on a thrilling rock ‘n’ roll show in the evening. They had a perfect thing going with The Traveling Wilburys, albeit for only two albums, and the financial reward wasn’t adequate compensation to put their friendships on the line. Many bands have been ruined from touring, and The Traveling Wilburys refused to be another casualty to the road.
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