Roy Orbison end to be represented as A-B-C-D-E-F-A-B'-C'-D'-E'-F'. Although Orbison recorded and wrote standard structure songs before "Only the Lonely", he claimed never to have learned how to write them: Elton John's songwriting partner and main lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote that Orbison's songs always made "radical left turns", and k.d. lang declared that good songwriting comes from being constantly surprised, such as how the entirety of "Running Scared" eventually depends on the final note, one word. Some of the musicians who worked with Orbison were confounded by what he asked them to do. The Nashville session guitarist Jerry Kennedy stated, "Roy went
Roy Orbison shudder time." Orbison was given one solo track, "Not Alone Any More", on the album. His contributions were highly praised by the press. "Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1" spent 53 weeks on the US charts, peaking at number three. It reached No. 1 in Australia and topped out at No. 16 in the UK. The album won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. "Rolling Stone" included it in the top 100 albums of the decade. Orbison was in high demand for concerts and interviews once again, and was seemingly ecstatic about it. He began writing songs