End Of The Line Extended Wilbury Twist Traveling Wilburys

End Of The Line Album: The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988)
Wilbury Twist Album: Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3
by The Traveling Wilburys

sounds like "will bury". Willfully burying...

The Traveling Wilburys were a supergroup made up of Jeff Lynne (ELO), Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. This song contains the folksy wisdom that comes from their experiences. It has a railroad theme, as the "end of the line" represents the train's last stop. Fittingly, it was the last song on their debut album, Volume One.

The song is credited to all five group members, but George Harrison came up with the idea, including the main chord sequence - it certainly bears resemblance to his Beatles and solo output. Harrison takes the first verse, followed by Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. Tom Petty gets the lead on the chorus.

Nine of the 10 songs on the Volume One album, including "End Of The Line," were recorded in a 10-day span when the group had to write and record almost a song a day. Dave Stewart of Eurythmics let them use his Los Angeles house and attached studio for these sessions, which were extremely productive and a lot of fun.

The song they didn't record there is "Handle With Care," which they made about a month earlier at Bob Dylan's home studio for George Harrison to release as a B-side. That song was so good, and the experience so pleasant, that they decided to form a band. "Handle With Care" was the first single, with "End Of The Line" released next. Both songs got a lot of airplay on a variety of formats and helped the album sell over 3 million copies in America.

"End Of The Line" became a eulogy of sorts for Roy Orbison, who died on December 6, 1988, just six weeks after the album was released. His work in the Traveling Wilburys brought him back to the fore after many years of obscurity. Orbison was one of the biggest stars of the '60s, but his '70s albums had little impact, and by the '80s he was struggling to fill small theaters. Before his death, he completed a comeback album with his fellow Wilburys called Mystery Girl, which was released on January 31, 1989, just as "End Of The Line" was climbing the charts. The album did very well, selling over a million copies in America and a lot more worldwide. The single "You Got It" landed at #9 in the US in April 1989, giving him his first Top 10 hit since "(Oh) Pretty Woman" in 1964.

The music video was directed by Willy Smax, who had previously worked with George Harrison on his "Got My Mind Set On You" video. It takes place, fittingly, on a train where the band is performing in a boxcar. Roy Orbison died before the video was made, so when his verse comes we see his photo and his guitar on a rocking chair.

It was kind of amazing that Harrison, Petty, Lynne and Dylan were able to get together for a music video months after the album was released. They were all busy with other projects but really enjoyed each other's company, so when the album exceeded expectations, they made time to make another video. The drummer on the train is Jim Keltner, the stalwart session player they used on the album. He's credited as "Buster Sidebury."

‘Wilbury Twist’ is the final song on Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3.

It has been in the family a long time. A great uncle, Chubby Wilbury, used to sing the ‘Wilbury Twist’.
Tom Petty BBC Radio 1, 25 October 1990

I think it actually originated with the Saint Vitus dance back in medieval times. It even shows the footsteps.
George Harrison
BBC Radio 1, 25 October 1990

‘Wilbury Twist’ was the second single released from Vol. 3, on 25 March 1991. The CD single contained the additional songs ‘New Blue Moon’ (Instrumental) and ‘Cool Dry Place’.

Though it was their second release, the album was mischievously titled Vol. 3 by George Harrison to play a joke on fans. According to Jeff Lynne, "That was George's idea. He said, 'Let's confuse the buggers.'"

As the dynamics within the band had shifted with Roy Orbison's death, the four remaining members all adopted new Wilbury pseudonyms: Spike (George Harrison), Clayton (Jeff Lynne), Muddy (Tom Petty) and Boo (Bob Dylan). With Harrison and Lynne producing again, the sessions were undertaken in the spring of 1990. An additional track, a cover of "Nobody's Child", was recorded and released in June 1990 as a charity single in aid of Olivia Harrison's Romanian Angel Appeal. The song was also the title track of a multi-artist fundraising album compiled by the Harrisons, Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 was dedicated to the memory of "Lefty Wilbury" (Roy Orbison).

The video for ‘Wilbury Twist’ was shot at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

It featured cameo appearances from stars including Eric Idle, John Candy, CHeech Marin, Woody Harrelson, Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Nail, Fred Savage, Ben Savage, Kala Savage, Thomas Guzman-Sanchez, and Milli Vanilli.