Ten thousand Nudie fans can't be wrong
March 8, 2006 11:18 PM   Subscribe

Remember Elvis's gold lame suit? And how about Hank Williams' white suit with musical note sleeves? How about Roy Rogers' crazy cowboy outfits?

We have one man to thank for all these outfits, the height of hillbilly hepcat sartorial magnificence. That man was Nudie of Hollywood.
posted by Astro Zombie (20 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Longtime Minnesota resident, by the by.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:19 PM on March 8, 2006


One of my favourite books is Derek McCormack's The Haunted Hillbilly, which features Nudie as a vampire.
posted by showmethecalvino at 11:27 PM on March 8, 2006


Also the suits for the Flying Burrito Brother's Gilded Palace of Sin album.
posted by johnny novak at 12:06 AM on March 9, 2006


So his first name was Nudie but his son identifies himself as "Jamie Nudie"? What gives?
posted by vacapinta at 12:10 AM on March 9, 2006


Well, it's either than or Jamie Cohn. Unless he's looking to be the fist called to make aliyah during Torah readings, I think he made the right choice.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:42 AM on March 9, 2006


There's also the Fat Man's Nudie Suit Story.
posted by mrbill at 2:07 AM on March 9, 2006


Nudie was also a pretty good mandolin player (Scroll down to "Rhinestones on the Strings"). Incidentally, an old friend, Dusty Rhoads, played bass and guitar on Nudie's record, as well as the original, classic bass line on Roy Rogers', Happy Trails, and recordings by Jim Reeves, Merle Travis and others.
posted by wsg at 2:49 AM on March 9, 2006


I was looking for the picture of the Grateful Dead in their Nudie suits but I can't seem to find it.
posted by fixedgear at 3:30 AM on March 9, 2006


I was watching this James Brown video not five minutes ago, thinking his solid-gold outfit should be in a museum somewhere — kinda sedate to have been made by Nudie, though.

Always thought it was funny that a guy so famous for dressing up people was named nude-ey. (I guess, for marketing purposes, it's easier to pronounce than Nuta Kotlyarenko.)
posted by LeLiLo at 3:55 AM on March 9, 2006


Here's a close up of Gram Parson's Nudie suite. You can kind of get a clue of why he didn't live past the age of 26.
posted by octothorpe at 4:57 AM on March 9, 2006


Last year, I saw Jim Lauderdale and his bluegrass band at Newport. Someone in the audience yelled out a question about his suit (I think this is it). He said that it was made by a former associate of Nudie named Manuel, who is based in Nashville.

When this thread hit, I started checking out Manuel online, and went whoa! This is the guy who designed the Beatles' uniforms for Sgt. Pepper? This is the guy who came up with the idea that Johnny Cash should wear black? The Rolling Stones tongue logo? The Grateful Dead's skull & roses? Wild.

Some Manuel creation photos here and here.
posted by barjo at 5:35 AM on March 9, 2006


Also the suits for the Flying Burrito Brother's Gilded Palace of Sin album.

I was gonna say, don't forget Gram Parsons' Nudie suit with the marijuana leaves on the front and big gleaming cross on the back...
posted by kgasmart at 6:29 AM on March 9, 2006


Wait a minute--whose right? Tuesday we were told that this guy invented the Stones' lips logo. Now we are told this Manuel guy invented it in a link on this thread. We are also told that Nudie invented Elvis' gold lame suit in this post. But the article about Manuel cited above says Manuel invented it. Who is it? And the Graham Parsons' suit Nudie made? Looks like its in a collection of Manuel's works at the site barjo linked above.

Somebody must be wrong.
posted by Ironmouth at 6:40 AM on March 9, 2006


Manual worked for Nudie Cohn for more than a decade, so he may have created some of those suits under th Nudie name.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:37 AM on March 9, 2006


Ironmouth - from the article, it sounds like Manuel created the image as a pillow for Jagger, and Jagger gave the pillow to Pasche, who created the actual logo design based on it. If true, both men have a claim on co-creating the design.

I'd love to see the pillow, to see how closely it matches the final design. Wonder where it is now.
posted by barjo at 7:46 AM on March 9, 2006


Cowboy bling, I love it. Great post, Astro Zombie, thanks! And terrific in-thread links, too. I am a Nudie fan, wouldn't I love me a Nudie suit, or even an updated ripfoff.

You and Ironmouth beat me to it. I was saving up links for a Manuel post sometime. Ironmouth hit many of the high points about Manuel - From Elvis to Elton: Cowboy Couturier to the Stars is also good. And for those who think life can never hold too many sequins, more about Manuel.

Paging KevinSkomsvold - there's a guy who can appreciate that cowboy bling!
posted by madamjujujive at 8:11 AM on March 9, 2006


Hell of a pillow.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:13 AM on March 9, 2006


From madam jjj's Elvis/Elton link, this interesting image: "Later, when Bob Dylan met the pope in 1997, he wore Manuel."
posted by LeLiLo at 8:34 AM on March 9, 2006


The Country Music Hall of Fame has a "Nudiemobile," a Pontiac that Nudie customized for Webb Pierce with a silver dollar covered dashboard, a saddle on the hump between the seats and pistols for door handles. I can't find a picture of it.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:41 PM on March 9, 2006


kgasmart - That Gram Parsons one was the first one I thought of upon seeing this post. The current-day purveyor of nudie-type suits seems to be Marty Stuart. Him and his band look sharp.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:27 PM on March 10, 2006


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