When Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Roy Orbison became the Traveling Wilburys, a mega-supergroup of musical hobos having fun, there was a fifth man among them: Jeff Lynne. If Lynne’s name didn’t ring the loud star bells the others did, it’s because he wasn’t on the marquee when his biggest hits were dominating the radio and album culture in the 1970s. Lynne was the genius behind Electric Light Orchestra–and later a producing phenom. He fit right in among the Wilbury superstars–and now he’s back. Nobody got the stars up and grooving–from Paul McCartney to Taylor Swift–like ELO playing the GRAMMYs with Ed Sheeran. The band rocked durable versions of “Evil Woman” and “Mr. Blue Sky.”
Electric Light Orchestra was a mainstay on 70s rock radio (and into the 80s), with hits that sounded like nobody else’s: Mr. Blue Sky, Turn to Stone, Livin’ Thing, Strange Magic, Telephone Line, Do Ya and Don’t Bring Me Down–to name just a few. Here’s “Do Ya” below, and a great version of “Evil Woman.” It’s believed Lynne is going to team up again for dates with Richard Tandy, the co-genius of ELO. They played together last year.
