On the strength of that, that’s how the Traveling Wilburys came to me. One night while we were recording he said, “We should form a group.” I said, “Who should we have in it?” He said, “Bob Dylan.” I’m going, “Bloody hell.” I never expected that answer. And then I said, “Can we have Roy Orbison?” He said, “Great, I love Roy.” And we both loved Tom. Everyone we asked joined immediately, so that was a great thing.
Jeff Lynne
Traveling Wilburys Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty On Writing With Bob Dylan
During a recent chat with Uncut, he was asked if an offer to produce Bob Dylan was ever thrown on the table, Lynne said, “No, it never was. We did a demo once of him singing ‘I’m In The Mood’ in his garage. There was a little 24-track (tape machine) in the corner. We did ‘Handle With Care’ there, too. I first met Bob when I played Budokan in Tokyo. I looked over and he was sitting on a monitor, watching me. I thought, ‘Oh, s***. I’d have done it better if I’d known he was watching.’ Anyway, after the gig, I was signing autographs for a line of about 20 people. I said to this polite Japanese girl, ‘Do you mind if I just take a page out of your notebook?’ So I took the page and her pen and got into the queue to get Bob Dylan’s autograph.”
Jeff Lynne: “Bob Dylan Wanted To Call Us Roy & The Boys”
IF IT HAD been up to Bob Dylan the Traveling Wilburys would have been simply known as Roy And The Boys, Jeff Lynne has told MOJO.
Jeff Lynne never believed Bob Dylan would join the Traveling Wilburys: ‘It was a wonderful experience’
“As we were doing it, about three weeks in, George said to me, he said: ‘You know what? You and me should have a group.’ And I go [sarcastically]: ‘Wow, that’s a great idea! Who should we have in it?,’” Lynne tells VH-1. “And he says [matter of factly]: ‘Bob Dylan.’ And, of course, I’m thinking he’s going to say, like, Nigel Trilby, from up the road. But no, you know, Bob Dylan!”
