How a Simple Jam Session Became Rock’s Greatest Supergroup
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Traveling Wilburys formed almost by accident. When George Harrison needed a B-side, he called Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne, and together they recorded “Handle With Care.” The chemistry was instant, and within months, they became a band the world couldn’t ignore. Their blend of humor, heart, and melody carried through every track, especially “End of the Line.” Our own Greg Hengler shares how these musicians balanced fame with friendship and created music that still feels effortless.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:14.1 | This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories. |
| 0:18.7 | Our next story is about a band that was dubbed the billion-dollar |
| 0:22.9 | quintet. Here's Greg Hangler with the story. The traveling Wilburys had a short |
| 0:29.7 | history, but a long past. The creation of the rock group was a fortunate accident, |
| 0:36.4 | nicknamed the billion-dollar quintet, the five musical |
| 0:39.7 | legends, three of whom were in their 40s, had gathered to assist a former Beatle in writing and |
| 0:45.8 | recording what was intended as a throwaway B-side track. Tom Petty at age 38, whose career was at its |
| 0:53.2 | peak, was by far the youngest member of the group. |
| 1:09.2 | Roy Orbison, at 52, who was called theest Singer in the World by Elvis, was the oldest. |
| 1:15.8 | Here's Roy singing, You Got It, the Hiddy co-wrote with future fellow Wheelberries, Jeff Lynn and Tom Petty. |
| 1:24.8 | Anything you want, you got it. |
| 1:28.3 | Anything you need. |
| 1:30.3 | You got it. |
| 1:31.3 | Anything at all. |
| 1:32.3 | You got it. |
| 1:33.3 | Oh, baby. |
| 1:35.3 | And then there was former Beatle, George Harrison. In 1963, a song, do- Orbison to record the song he wrote. |
| 2:03.2 | Don't think twice. |
| 2:04.5 | It's all right. |
| 2:06.5 | Orbison would later regret his decision to reject this Dylan masterpiece. |
... |
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