Jeff Lynne’s songbook first opened more than five decades earlier with The Move in the mid-’60s. As co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Lynne wrote and arranged the majority of the band’s songs, including hits “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Evil Woman,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” and “Hold On Tight,” among others. Lynne remained the key songwriter within ELO’s eponymous 1971 debut through From Out of Nowhere in 2019.
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In 1980, Lynne and ELO composed and performed music for the film Xanadu. By the time the band first disbanded in 1986, Lynne had already started working with other artists, writing and producing albums with everyone from Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, ABBA‘s Agnetha Fältskog, The Everly Brothers, and more. He was working on albums by George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison, who, along with Bob Dylan, would later become his Traveling Wilburys cohorts.
In the 1990s, Lynne also co-produced the Beatles’ Anthology singles, including John Lennon’s demos for “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” and also wrote and produced songs for Bonnie Tyler, Joe Cocker, Aerosmith, and more.
In 2023, Lynne was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and performed his ELO classic “Mr. Blue Sky.” Though Lynne’s catalog as a songwriter is thick, here’s a look at just five songs he wrote for other artists in the 1980s through the early ’90s.
1. “The Story of Me,” The Everly Brothers (1984)
Written by Jeff Lynne
It had been 11 years since The Everly Brothers released a new album since Pass the Chicken & Listen. In 1984, they made their comeback with EB84. On the album, Lynne also wrote the song “The Story of Me.”
Rescue me before my dreams have flown away
Rescue me, take me back with you again
The lonely hours I wait for dawn’s caress
I can’t forget the silence of the loneliness
Destiny, I wrote the book about the game
Destiny, now I’ve learned how to take the pain
Try as I may I can’t explain the way I’m feeling now
Try as I may I can’t explain
2. “When We Was Fab,” George Harrison (1987)
Written by Jeff Lynne and George Harrison
After a five-year hiatus from the release of his 1982 album Gone Troppo, George Harrison began working on his 11th album. A few days after meeting Lynne, he asked him to go on vacation with him. The two went to Australia, and once they returned, they began working on Cloud Nine with Lynne producing the album. On the album, Harrison co-wrote three tracks with Lynne, including “This is Love” and “When We Was Fab.”
The latter track references the Beatlemania days when The Beatles were called the Fab Four. Ringo Starr also plays drums on the track. Lynne’s work with Harrison also led him to work with the Traveling Wilburys from 1988 through 1991.
Back then long time ago when grass was green
Woke up in a daze
Arrived like strangers in the night
(Fab! Doot, doot, doot doo)
Long time ago when we was fab (Fab!)
Back when income tax was all we had
Caressers fleeced you in the morning light
Casualties at dawn
And we did it all
(Fab! Doot, doot, doot doo)
Long time ago when we was fab (Fab)
In my world you are my only love
And while you’re in this world
The fuzz gonna come and claim you
But you mo better wise
3. “A Love So Beautiful,” Roy Orbison (1988)
Written by Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison‘s Mystery Girl was a collage of songs, some penned by Orbison and others offered up, including one by U2‘s Bono and The Edge (“She’s a Mystery to Me”) and “The Comedians” by Elvis Costello. Lynne also co-produced and co-wrote four tracks with Orbison for the album, including his opening hit “You Got It,” along with “California Blue,” and “A Love So Beautiful.”
Lynne and Roy wrote “A Love So Beautiful” using a Casio keyboard and the guitar.
The summer sun went down on our love long ago
But in my heart I feel the same old after glow
A love so beautiful in every way
A love so beautiful
We let it slip away
We were all too young to understand to ever know
That lovers drift apart and that’s the way love goes
A love so beautiful, a love so free
A love so beautiful, a love for you and me
4. “Let it Shine,” Brian Wilson (1988)
Written by Jeff Lynne and Brian Wilson
On Brian Wilson‘s self-titled solo debut, Lynne co-wrote one song, “Let it Shine.” Recorded over a year and at 11 studios, Brian Wilson also features Christopher Cross, Terence Trent D’Arby, The Cars’ Elliot Easton, and more.
Shadows fall
The ocean calls to me
The night is still
She’s where I wanna be
The stars all send
Their silver light to me
Forever shine
On me eternally
I couldn’t think of anything
That gives me more than what you bring
The color of an endless dream
Let it shine
5. “Walk Away,” Del Shannon (1991)
Written by Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Del Shannon
Del Shannon’s final album before his death in 1990, Rock On!, was produced by Lynne and Mike Campbell. The opening track, “Walk Away” was also co-written by Shannon, along with Lynne and Tom Petty, who both also play on the album.
Every time I have to lie it tears me apart
Every time I see you cry
It takes a piece of my heart
I know that I said never never walk away from you
I know that I said I’d always be there my whole life through
I got to walk away, walk away
There’s nothing left that I can do but walk away
Walk away
Slowly turn my eyes from you and walk away
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame
