Handle with Care by The Traveling Wilburys

Just before reading The Economist's piece on George Frideric Handel (mentioned in the previous post), I read about another musician called George from across the pond and a trip he took to America before he became famous. That other George was George Harrison.

Harrison visited his sister Louise in Benton, Illinois, along with his brother Peter, a few months before the US was infected with Beatlemania. I was sent down the rabbit hole of reading about Harrison in Illinois by the announcement from a high school classmate, Peter Conrad, that a song of his is included in the soundtrack of a film about Harrison's visit to Benton.

Harrison wrote Handle with Care as a B-side and thought it would be fun to get some others involved in its recording, namely, Jeff Lynne (who was producing the LP on which the A-side of the single was to appear), Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison. After the recording proved to be satisfying and fun, the five musicians decided to do more tracks, resulting in the LP, The Traveling Wilburys.

Handel was unavailable to record with other five musicians at the time, though his name (sort of) appears in the title of this track.

Something by Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Eric Clapton, & a Cast of Thousands

At the Concert for George, George Harrison's friends and collaborators sing one of his contributions to the Beatles' catalog.

Yeah, Prince Can Play Some Guitar