Released in 1988, Volume One became the surprise hit of the year, selling two million copies within six months in the United States. Although the single Handle With Care did not scale the pop charts (it stalled at US #45), the album did, reaching #16 in the UK and an impressive #3 in the US. With over fifty weeks on the charts, the album was later certified triple-platinum. While Harrison and Petty had had recent successes, Dylan, Orbison (who would die suddenly of a heart attack on 6 December 1988) and Lynne had not seen an album climb that high in several years. At the time, no Dylan album had ever achieved two million in sales. As one critic put it, it was "one of the great commercial coups of the decade."
Released in 1990 it was their second release, the album was mischievously titled Vol. 3 by George Harrison. According to Jeff Lynne, "That was George's idea. He said, 'Let's confuse the buggers'.
As the dynamics within the band had shifted with Orbison's passing, the four remaining members all adopted new Wilbury pseudonyms: Spike (George Harrison), Clayton (Jeff Lynne), Muddy (Tom Petty) and Boo (Bob Dylan). With Harrison and Lynne producing again, the sessions were undertaken in the spring of 1990, with an additional track, a cover of "Nobody's Child" being set aside for a charity compilation album.
