Music / ↳ Wilbury Twist

Wilbury Twist

Written by: The full band Lead vocals: All four members trade verses Length: 2:56 to 2:59 Album: Vol. 3, track 11 (final track)

The last song the Traveling Wilburys ever released is, fittingly, the least serious thing they ever recorded: a wild, frenzied rocker built as a deliberate send-up of decades of novelty dance-craze songs, from "The Twist" onward. Every remaining member takes a turn at lead vocals, which critics have pointed to as a genuinely fitting way to close out both the album and, as it turned out, the band's entire career.

For the full story behind the invented dance moves, the "Wilbury Quadrille" mythology the band's own official site later added as a joke, and the music video featuring Eric Idle and John Candy attempting the choreography, see our dedicated Wilbury Twist page.

What's worth noting here, on the song itself, is the tonal choice it represents. Vol. 3 had just spent its back half quietly working through the loss of Roy Orbison, most directly on the previous track, "You Took My Breath Away." Ending the record, and the band, on a joke about a fake dance rather than anything more solemn tells you plenty about what this group actually valued. They'd rather leave you laughing than leave you with a eulogy.

Previous track: You Took My Breath Away. That's the full Vol. 3 tracklist; see the album page or head back to all songs.