Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 - Songwriting

Songwriting

According to statements by George Harrison in the documentary The True History of the Traveling Wilburys (filmed in 1988 about the making of the album and re-released on the bonus DVD included in The Traveling Wilburys Collection), the whole band gave various contributions to all songs, although each song was mainly written by a single member; the joint songwriting credit came from the fact that giving individualized credits looked egotistical. However, the publishing credits on the Collection book are more revealing about the actual songwriter, as each of the credited publishers belongs to a single member. Thus, Harrison's Umlaut Corporation (formerly Ganga Publishing) is credited for "Handle with Care", "Heading for the Light", "End of the Line" and the bonus track "Maxine", identifying him as the main writer of those songs; Bob Dylan, credited via his Special Rider Music publisher, wrote "Dirty World" (according to Harrison's and Jeff Lynne's recollections on the documentary, Dylan and all the other band members gave their input to the song by pitching in funny lines to complete the lyric line "He loves your..."), "Congratulations", the long narrative of "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" and the other bonus track, "Like a Ship"; Tom Petty, published by Gone Gator Music, wrote "Last Night" (again, with substantial lyrical contributions from the entire band ) and "Margarita"; finally, Jeff Lynne's publisher, Shard End Music (named after his birthplace), identifies him as the writer of "Rattled" and "Not Alone Any More". The separation was not repeated for the publishing credits of Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, which show all songs as being published by all four publishers.