George Harrison Joked About the Origin of The Traveling Wilburys’ Name Multiple Times

George Harrison joked about the origin of The Traveling Wilburys’ name multiple times. The supergroup’s website writes the name came from a slang term George and Jeff Lynne had in the recording studio. However, Lynne calls that story a complete “fabrication.” Maybe they wanted it to be a mystery.

George Harrison joked about The Traveling Wilburys’ name in interviews

In a couple of interviews, George joked about the origin of The Traveling Wilburys’ name.

During a group interview on Today, he said, “You mean the name of the group? It came from the Duke of Edinburgh, actually. We were talking with the Duke, and he said, ‘If you guys did form a group, you should be called The Traveling Wilburys.'” The interviewer skeptically said, “Of course he did.”

“It has Traveling Wilburys by appointment to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh,” George added. The interviewer said, “Is this true?” “Yeah, of course,” George insisted with a straight face. “Would we lie to you?”

During a joint interview with Jeff Lynne on Good Morning Britain, George changed the origin story. Trying to keep a straight face, he said, “I think it started as The Trundling Wheelbarrows; that’s what we thought. Then, we were having a party with Johnny Carson in America, and he said, ‘No, you should change it to The Traveling Wilburys.’ Something like that.”

The interviewer asked, “So, you got some advice from pretty high up there.” George said, “Oh, yeah, all the time, yeah. The pope-he sent us a telegram too. He said, ‘Maybe it should be The Trembling Wilburys, lads.’ But we preferred The Traveling Wilburys.”

Both interviewers moved along with other questions. So, it’s unknown whether they knew George was joking. The origin story of the supergroup’s name is complicated enough without George’s jokes.

George Harrison technically came up with The Traveling Wilburys’ name before the supergroup formed

It was a miracle that George, Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison were all in the recording studio at the same time when George and Lynne wrote “Handle With Care.” Later, it was an even bigger miracle that the five rock stars reconvened to record a whole album.

So, if the band itself was an accident, it was only fitting they named themselves after a slang term George had for accidents in the studio.

According to Rolling Stone, George invented the word “Wilbury” while working on Cloud Nine with Lynne in 1987. When the faulty equipment caused recording errors in the studio, George always assured Lynne, “We’ll bury ’em in the mix.” Eventually, he shortened that to “Wilbury,” a slang term that described all mistakes or accidents.

During an interview with MTV, George said he and Lynne probably had too many drinks, and The Trembling Wilburys came out in their conversation.

When the supergroup reconvened for nine days to record their debut, George suggested they name themselves after the term he coined with Lynne in 1987; The Trembling Wilburys. “Jeff suggested ‘Traveling’ instead. Everyone agreed,” their website reads. However, Lynne disputes this origin story.

Lynne said the origin story is a ‘fabrication’

According to Lynne, the origin story of The Traveling Wilburys’ name is a “fabrication.”

Ultimate Classic Rock wrote, “It’s often reported that the band name came from a conversation between Harrison and Lynne about studio errors and solution ‘we’ll bury ’em in the mix.’ But Lynne said, ‘That’s totally a fabrication.

“Somebody invented that just to make it sound good, but no, there was nothing subtle at all about The Wilburys. What you saw [was] what you got. That was it.'”

So, with all of George’s jokes and Lynne claiming the only seemingly true origin story is a fabrication, it’s unclear how exactly the supergroup came up with their name. However, maybe that’s what they wanted all along. The five musicians liked that their album and the way they recorded it was “flippant.” Nothing was serious like the record companies were back then, making the experience more fun. If nothing was serious, that could include their name. We’ll never know.