• Billboard Pro
  • Subscribe
  • Charts Weekly
    • Hot 100
    • Billboard 200
    • Billboard Global 200
    • Billboard Global Excl. US
    • Artist 100
    • All Weekly Charts
    Year-End
    • Year-End Hot 100 Songs
    • Year-End Billboard 200 Albums
    • 2020 Year-End Boxscore
    • Google's Top Hummed Songs 2020
    • All Year-End Charts
    Decade-End
    • Decade-End Top Artists
    • Decade-End Top Artists - Interactive
    • Decade-End Hot 100 Songs
    • Decade-End Billboard 200 Albums
    • All Decade-End Charts
    Bandsintown X Billboard
    • Buzzing Livestream Artists
    • Rising Livestream Artists
    • Top Livestream Artists
  • News Genres
    • Pop
    • Hip-Hop/R&B
    • Dance
    • Country
    • Latin
    • Rock
    • K-Pop
    Topics
    • Year In Music 2019
    • Pride
    • Podcasts
    • International
    • All News
  • Video Video Series
    • Billboard News
    • Live Videos
    • Quizzed
    • How It Went Down
    • Emerging Artists: You Should Know
    • My Billboard Moment
    • All Videos
  • Photos
  • Pro Industry News
    • Legal and Management
    • Executive Turntable
    • Touring
    • Record Labels
    • Streaming
    • Tech
    • Publishing
    • Radio
    • All Industry News
    Pro Tools
    • Insights
    • Deep Dive
    • - Songs For Sale
    • - Music On TV: What Works Now
    • Close Calls
    • Chart Search
    • Boxscore
    • Billboard Bulletin
    • Artist index
    • Song Index
    Pro Charts
    • Pop Songs
    • Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Songs
    • Hot Country Songs
    • Songwriters & Producers
    • View All Pro Charts
  • Newsletters

Billboard Pro

  • Subscribe
  • Sign In

Follow Billboard

About Billboard

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdChoices

© 2021 Billboard Media, LLC. All rights reserved. BILLBOARD is a registered trademark of Billboard IP Holdings, LLC

  • Charts Weekly
    • Hot 100
    • Billboard 200
    • Billboard Global 200
    • Billboard Global Excl. US
    • Artist 100
    • All Weekly Charts
    Year-End
    • Year-End Hot 100 Songs
    • Year-End Billboard 200 Albums
    • 2020 Year-End Boxscore
    • Google's Top Hummed Songs 2020
    • All Year-End Charts
    Decade-End
    • Decade-End Top Artists
    • Decade-End Top Artists - Interactive
    • Decade-End Hot 100 Songs
    • Decade-End Billboard 200 Albums
    • All Decade-End Charts
    Bandsintown X Billboard
    • Buzzing Livestream Artists
    • Rising Livestream Artists
    • Top Livestream Artists
  • News Genres
    • Pop
    • Hip-Hop/R&B
    • Dance
    • Country
    • Latin
    • Rock
    • K-Pop
    Topics
    • Year In Music 2019
    • Pride
    • Podcasts
    • International
    • All News
  • Video Video Series
    • Billboard News
    • Live Videos
    • Quizzed
    • How It Went Down
    • Emerging Artists: You Should Know
    • My Billboard Moment
    • All Videos
  • Photos
  • Pro Industry News
    • Legal and Management
    • Executive Turntable
    • Touring
    • Record Labels
    • Streaming
    • Tech
    • Publishing
    • Radio
    • All Industry News
    Pro Tools
    • Insights
    • Deep Dive
    • - Songs For Sale
    • - Music On TV: What Works Now
    • Close Calls
    • Chart Search
    • Boxscore
    • Billboard Bulletin
    • Artist index
    • Song Index
    Pro Charts
    • Pop Songs
    • Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Songs
    • Hot Country Songs
    • Songwriters & Producers
    • View All Pro Charts
  • Newsletters
    • Billboard Pro
    • Subscribe
Three Sixty
Top Artists
View All
Top Charts
Hot 100 Songs
Billboard 200
View All
Top Videos
Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' No. 1 on Hot 100 for 2nd Week & More Chart News | Billboard News
Anuel AA & Ozuna Talk Rewriting the Rules of Reggaeton With Joint Album ‘Los Dioses' | Billboard News
View All
Top Articles
Elvis Costello Recalls 'SNL' Stunt That Got Him Banned: 'I Just Wanted Them to Remember Us'
Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Spends Second Week Atop Both Billboard Global Charts
View All
Watch Now
Magazine Feature

Stars Who Rocked The Nudie Suit

By Billboard Staff
4/22/2016
  • Copied to clipboard
Courtesy of The Nudie Collection
1 / 9
Item 1 of 9

Elvis, 1957

Nudie Cohn started his business with a loan from Tex Williams, who auctioned off a horse to pay for the chain stitch sewing machine. The country-western musician was the first of many to wear the designer.

“Colonel Tom Parker came to my grandfather [left, with Presley] and said, ‘I have this new kid. I want to do something spectacular that has never been done before,’ ” says Jamie Nudie of Elvis’ gold lamé suit, which then cost $10,000. It is now on display at Graceland.

By Billboard Staff
4/22/2016
  • Copied to clipboard
Artists Mentioned

Cher

David Lee Roth

Dolly Parton

Elvis Presley

Gram Parsons

Johnny Cash

Keith Richards

Sly Stone

Keystone/Getty Images
2 / 9
Item 2 of 9

Sonny & Cher, 1966

“My grandfather knew Cher before she was Cher — he knew her mother, Jackie,” says Nudie of the singer who, with then-husband Sonny Bono, put on Native American-inspired, suede-fringed Nudie suits.

Jim McCrary/Getty Images
3 / 9
Item 3 of 9

Gram Parsons, 1969

Already a Nudie devotee, Parsons had the rest of his Flying Burrito Brothers band outfitted in embellished suits for the cover to the group’s 1969 debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin.

Courtesy Photo
4 / 9
Item 4 of 9

Elton John, 1972

John wore a custom rose-covered style with a star-emblazoned Nudie hat on the cover of his “Rocket Man” single.

Andre Csillag/REX/Shutterstock
5 / 9
Item 5 of 9

Keith Richards, 1974

The Rolling Stones guitarist references Nudie in his 2015 Netflix documentary Under the Influence: “Gram Parsons used to pass his cast-offs to me. I did have one of Gram’s Nudie suits. ... We used to go ’round there. What a madman!” says Richards, who performed in a red UFO-themed version.

Bernard Gotfryd/Getty Images
6 / 9
Item 6 of 9

Sly Stone, 1974

Vintage Gene Autry looks may have been the inspiration, but such stars as Stone, Jerry Garcia and ZZ Top introduced a rock’n’roll edge to Cohn’s designs.

Courtesy Photo
7 / 9
Item 7 of 9

Dolly Parton, 1975

Though it was the country star’s longtime duet partner, Porter Wagoner, who was better-known for his Nudie collection, Parton owned a few herself, including a yellow jumpsuit that she wore on the album cover of The Best of Dolly Parton, Vol. 2 (above).

Ron Galella/WireImage
8 / 9
Item 8 of 9

Johnny Cash, 1976

The country icon wore a bald eagle- and star-embellished suit for his 1976 bicentennial tour. “He bought a lot -- but it was all black,” recalls Nudie.

Courtesy of The Nudie Collection
9 / 9
Item 9 of 9

David Lee Roth, 1990

Though Cohn died in 1984, his wife, Bobbie, and granddaughter Nudie kept the North Hollywood shop open until 1994, continuing to cater to stars like Roth, who donned a Native American-themed jacket.

By Billboard Staff
4/22/2016
  • Copied to clipboard

Watch Now

News

Macklemore Drops New 'Trump's Over Freestyle' | Billboard News

4 days ago

Follow Billboard

The Daily

A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry

  • Subscribe
  • Billboard Events
  • Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • FAQ
  • Feedback
  • Sitemap
  • Media Kit
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdChoices
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2021 Billboard Media, LLC. All rights reserved. BILLBOARD is a registered trademark of Billboard IP Holdings, LLC