Music / ↳ She's My Baby

She's My Baby

Written by: The full band (credited to Spike, Clayton, Boo, and Muddy Wilbury) Lead vocals: Full band, trading verses Guest musician: Gary Moore, credited as Ken Wilbury, lead guitar Length: 3:15 Album: Vol. 3, track 1

By near-universal agreement among critics who otherwise found Vol. 3 a step down from the debut, "She's My Baby" is the one moment the sequel genuinely matches its predecessor's energy. Opening the album at full sprint, it's pure rock and roll swagger, built around a guest lead guitar solo from Irish blues-rock great Gary Moore, credited on the sleeve as "Ken Wilbury" to keep the family joke intact.

The song became the lead single and one of only two genuine radio hits Vol. 3 produced, reaching number 2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. Reviewers have specifically noted that, for sheer rock energy, nothing on either Wilburys album quite matches it, which makes its placement as the album's opening track a slightly double-edged choice: it's a phenomenal way to start a record, and it means everything that follows has to live up to it.

There's a playful, over-the-top quality to the song's boasts about its subject's talents that fits the band's established sense of humor perfectly. It's a song that knows exactly how good it is, which, for a band this stacked with talent, was a pretty reasonable thing to know.

Next track: Inside Out. Or see the full Vol. 3 tracklist.