Za The Traveling Wilburys mogu slobodno da tvrdim da su bili najveća supergrupa svih vremena koja se ikada okupila. Razlog je sasvim jednostavan – njeni članovi su bili Roy Orbinson, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lyne i Bob Dylan, sve same muzičke legende koje su i do tada imale fantastične karijere.
Ima li neko primedbi? Nema. 
Kada su ovakvi kapitalci u zajedničkoj igri, obično se pomisli na ogroman novac koji im se nudi kako bi snimili jedan album i, eventualno, odsvirali svetsku turneju. Tajnu kako je grupa stvarno nastala otkrio je Jeff Lyne u nedavnom razgovoru za časopis Mojo. Parafraziram njeovu priču:
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Lyne se zezao sa svojim starim pajtašem Daveom Edmundsom. Otišli su na zajedničku večeru i tu su se dobro uradili od alkohola. Posle večere svako je pošao svojim putem, a onda je Edmunds doviknuo Lynneu sa drugog kraja ulice:
– Hej, Jeff, zaboravio sam da ti kažem: George Harrison me je zamolio da te pitam da li bi želeo da radiš sa njim na njegovom sledećem albumu?
Narednog jutra, istrežnjen i uljuđen, Lynne se uputio ka Harrisonovom domu. Kaže da ga je podsetio na Versajsku palatu, no domaćin je bio odsutan. Otišao je na svoj brodić gde mu se Lynne pridružio i odmah je palo zezanje. Momci su se prepoznali na prvu loptu.
Usledilo je snimanje Harrisonovog albuma Cloud Nine (1987), a na samom snimanju je vladala odlična atmosfera. Na jednoj od pauza, uz pivo i pljuge, Harrison je Lynneu predložio da naprave zajedničku grupu:
– I ko će tu svirati sa nama?
– Bob Dylan – ispalio je Harrison kao iz topa.
– Mogli bismo da angažujemo i Roya Orbinsona – predložio je Lynne kao zezalicu.
– Zašto da ne, volim Roya – odgovorio je Harrison.
Ubacili su još Toma Pettyja i igranka je mogla da krene. Svi su gledali u Dylana, ali on je odbio da bude centralna figura grupe, već samo ravnopravni član. Zapravo, insistirao je da se ona nazove – Roy and the Boys.
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Ostatak priče možete da pročite u nekoj od rock enciklopedija. The Travelling Wilburys, vol. 1 (1988) je odličan album koji su zajednički potpisali ovi veliki muzičari. Čak je i autorstvo pesama pripisano svim članovima iako se može dosta jasno naslutiti čija je koja.
Priča o dva živopisna zgubidana, “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” je, definitivno, Dylanova.
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Tweeter and the Monkey Man were hard up for cash
They stayed up all night selling cocaine and hash
To an undercover cop who had a sister named Jan
For reasons unexplained she loved the Monkey ManTweeter was a boy scout before she went to Vietnam
And found out the hard way nobody gives a damn
They knew that they found freedom just across the Jersey Line
So they hopped into a stolen car took Highway 99And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they’re standing
Never saw them when they fellThe undercover cop never liked the Monkey Man
Even back in childhood he wanted to see him in the can
Jan got married at fourteen to a racketeer named Bill
She made secret calls to the Monkey Man from a mansion on the hillIt was out on thunder road – Tweeter at the wheel
They crashed into paradise – they could hear them tires squeal
The undercover cop pulled up and said “Everyone of you’s a liar
If you don’t surrender now it’s gonna go down to the wire”And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they’re standing
Never saw them when they fellAn ambulance rolled up, a state trooper close behind
Tweeter took his gun away and messed up his mind
The undercover cop was left tied up to a tree
Near the souvenir stand by the old abandoned factoryNext day the undercover cop was-a hot in pursuit
He was taking the whole thing personal
He didn’t care about the loot
Jan had told him many times it was you to me who taught
In Jersey anything’s legal as long as you don’t get caughtAnd the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they’re standing
Never saw them when they fellSomeplace by Rahway prison they ran out of gas
The undercover cop had cornered them said “Boy, you didn’t think that this could last”
Jan jumped out of bed said “There’s someplace I gotta go”
She took a gun out of the drawer and said “It’s best if you don’t know”The undercover cop was found face down in a field
The monkey man was on the river bridge using Tweeter as a shield
Jan said to the Monkey Man “I’m not fooled by Tweeter’s curl
I knew him long before he ever became a Jersey girl”And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they’re standing
Never saw them when they fellNow the town of Jersey City is quieting down again
I’m sitting in a gambling club called the Lion’s Den
The TV set was blown up, every bit of it is gone
Ever since the nightly news show that the Monkey Man was onI guess I’ll go to Florida and get myself some sun
There ain’t no more opportunity here, everything’s been done
Sometime I think of Tweeter, sometimes I think of Jan
Sometimes I don’t think about nothing but the Monkey ManAnd the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they’re standing
Never saw them when they fell
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Pesma je veoma zanimljiva, a Dylan je inspiraciju za nju potražio kod Brucea Springsteena, pa možete dobro da se zabavite tražeći reference u njegovim pesmama ako vam je njegov opus blizak. Interesantno, ona je jedina na kojoj ne peva Orbinson.
Orbinson je iznenada umro 1990. godine od srčanog udara, samo par nedelja posle završetka snimanja albuma. I to je bio kraj jedne kvalitetne i velike ideje. Zato, kada god slušam ovu bratiju, neprestano se pitam dokle bi zajednički stigli da se to nije desilo.
Ne mogu ni da naslutim.