Singer, guitarist and producer was the lead singer and primary songwriter for the band Electric Light Orchestra and a member of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.
Fast Facts:
- Born December 30, 1947 in Shard End, Birmingham, England
- Plays guitar, piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, drums, cello and violin
- Produced albums for every former Beatle except John Lennon
- Wrote 5 songs for the film Xanadu, now a Broadway musical
ELO
Lynne had recorded some songs with the band The Move before being invited by band member Ron Wood to come aboard his new project, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Wood left the band after recording one album, leaving Lynne to determine the future creative direction of the band. He continued recording with the band throughout the 1970s and 1980s, producing the hits "Evil Woman," "Fire On High," "Mr. Blue Sky," among others. The band broke up in 1988, though Lynne produced one more album as "Electric Light Orchestra" in 2001.
Wilburys
As ELO declined in the mid to late '80s, Lynne focused more and more on producing albums for other artists. He worked with George Harrison on the ex-Beatle's 1987 solo album, Cloud Nine, including the hit songs "Got My Mind Set on You" and "When We Was Fab," which Lynne co-wrote with Harrison.
Harrison and Lynne, along with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison, united the following year to record two album as The Traveling Wilburys. He would go on to produce more albums for Wilburys members Orbison and Petty, working on the latter's hugely successful Full Moon Fever. Lynne would produce the audio mix for the Concert for George DVD after his friend Harrison's death in 2001.
