Hey Blue Rodeo Fans,
Welcome to another What The!! Wednesday, and what is turning out to be my favourite weekly series posts so far. That is not a misprint above, today's post features Colin Cripps, in the Nudie!! Ok ok, before you report me to the authorities, it's not what you think - Nudie Cohn was the creator of Nudie Rodeo Tailors, and Colin is featured wearing his vintage custom Nudie Rodeo Tailors suit in the Blue Rodeo video for I Can't Hide This Anymore.
I contacted Colin last week, and he graciously shared this about his Nudie suit...
"It’s a 1971 Nudies Rodeo Tailors suit that was originally made as a display model. It was eventually sold to a televison production and I was told used on a Bob Hope special. No two Nudie suits were ornamented the same so they are all one of a kind. I bought it in 1997."
A Bit of History
Nudie Cohn was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1902, and by the 1930's Nudie had become a tailor and was the first person to put rhinestones on clothing! You can read the history of Nudie, his wife Bobbie, and Nudie Rodeo Tailor here. Here's the man himself, Nudie Cohn, resplendent in one of his creations...
Nudie Rodeo Taliors have made outfits for the likes of Hank Williams, Elton John, Johhny Cash, and Gram Parsons, who many credit for the creation of country
rock that led to bands like Poco, the Eagles, and the countless many that followed.
Hank Williams
Elton John
Nudie and Johnny Cash
Gram Parsons
Colin in the Nudie
And here's the video for I Can't Hide This Anymore. After watching it several times I get the feeling that the director and art director built the video around Colin's suit!
And every now and then, Colin wears his Nudie Rodeo Tailors suit on stage! Talk about classic country cool...
-Dave Brinton, True Rodeo
Special thanks to Colin Cripps for the background information on his Nudie suit.
Sources: Colin Cripps, www.nudiesrodeotailor.com, Youtube.