Rodeo Ben
“Rodeo Ben began working with his father at age eighteen in 1936. Ben, Jr. recalls the store being called The East’s Most Western Store.” Rodeo Ben quickly became a fashion celebrity in the burgeoning world of western wear. Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, and Hopalong Cassidy all wore Rodeo Ben gear. But that wasn’t good enough for Rodeo Ben, he wanted to design and make clothing that looked good, fit well, and stood up to the hard rodeo lifestyle. He wanted his clothes to be a friend to the cowboys and ranchers that wore them.” (excerpted from ‘Rodeo Ben & How Your Dad Wears His Wranglers’ by Armando Roggio)
Nathan Turk
“N. Turk (Nathan), one of the most important tailor’s for the movie & singing cowboys as well as country and western entertainers, and celebrities. Turk dressed Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry, and created custom work for Hollywood. His clothing is in every important Western design and Western heritage museum, including Gene Autry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum, and many more.” (via the Country Music Hall of Fame)
Manuel
“He was responsible for making Johnny Cash the man in black. He crafted Elvis’ signature gold lamé suit. He fashioned the garments Bob Dylan wore when performing for the Pope. He has dressed all three Hank Williams. And if this is not enough to bring him a legendary status in music history, you can thank him for both The Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead’s notorious insignias.” (excerpted from Manuel’s bio on his official web page)
Nudie Cohn
“Nudie clothed everybody who was anybody… John Wayne, Gene Autry, Cher, John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Elton John, Robert Mitchum, Pat Buttram, Tony Curtis, Michael Landon, Glenn Campbell, Hank Snow, Hank Williams Sr.,and groups such as, America, Chicago, ZZ top, and the Flying Burrito Bros where Gram Parsons wore the well known Marijuana leaves suit.” (excerpted from ‘The History of Nudie’, by Jamie Nudie)