Traveling Wilburys - Handle With Care

ryan: JEFF LYNNE! agh! it’s been driving me crazy since last night trying to remember who the fifth Wilbury was.
rachel: you could have asked me
ryan: i know, i was going to
ryan: but i didn’t want to ask on the train
ryan: in front of other people
rachel: hahaaha
ryan: i don’t feel too bad about forgetting jeff lynne, because he sucks.
rachel: yeah
ryan: i can’t imagine the pow wow that ended with asking him to join the band
rachel: george harrison must haved loved it
ryan: let’s make a supergroup! the best musicians in rock n roll! we got a beatle! and dylan! and roy orbison! the kids like tom petty, he rocks pretty hard.
ryan: who else?
ryan: how about the guy who wrote “mr blue sky”?
rachel: hahaha
ryan: man i love this record. i like any of the songs where they all sing.
ryan: since they all sound so different.
rachel: hahaha
rachel: and it kind of sounds terrible
ryan: yeah, it sounds like a muppet show medley

In all seriousness, the band came about more like this: George Harisson needed to record a song as a b-side for a 12 inch single he was releasing in Europe. One evening, he had dinner with Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne, who was producing some tracks for Orbison’s next record, and told them how he wanted to write and record this b-side the following day. Both agreed to help, but were studioless. Harisson suggested they call Bob Dylan and ask to use the studio in his Malibu home. Apparently when you have a shit ton of money, it’s that easy. Just call Bob Dylan guys. Obviously. Dylan happily agreed, but there was still one problem… George needed a guitar. And since he apparently has the greatest roladex in the world, the most obvious solution was to call Tom Petty and ask to borrow one. And thus, “Handle With Care” became a reality. However, at the end of the session, Harisson thought the song was way too good to be stuck on some shitty 12” single, so they recorded 9 more tracks.

The moral of this story is that I love this song. Also, ELO blows.

EDIT: To the those calling me out on my dislike of ELO, and more importantly, the factual correctness of my post, it helps to read the entire thing… like, past the sarcasm. It also helps to be correct when you make a spectacle of yourself. While you are right that Jeff Lynne produced (co-produced, if you really would like to split hairs) Harrison’s “Cloud Nine”, that was in 1987. The single I mentioned was the UK 12” for “This Is Love”, which was to be released June 1988, almost a full year after recording of “Cloud Nine” was completed. Harrison didn’t have anything for the flip side of the record at the time, so while in LA, he decided to record one. George phoned up Lynne, who was in LA currently producing Tom Petty’s “Full Moon Fever” and Roy Orbisson’s “Mystery Girl” to meet over dinner. The rest of the story plays out as I previously described.

Also, fuck ELO.