They’re Going To Put Me in the Movies

Oh man, that’s so 1966. Buck Owens and The Buckaroos. They’re a-pickin’ and a-grinnin’, of course, because Country music was lots of fun back then. Even the sad songs were wry and amusing.

The Beatles liked Act Naturally, and Buck Owens in general. They recorded it and put it on the B side of Yesterday, of all places. A charming throwaway, made more charming by Ringo’s amiable stab at the vocals.

Buck Owens and Don Rich are wearing glorious Nudie suits, of course. Nudie Cohn had a shop in North Hollywood by that time, called Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. I think Elvis really got the fad of Nudie’s spangled outfits going, but it stuck hard with nearly everyone in Country, and beyond. Let’s face it: Today’s fad of dressing more slovenly than the audience is a disservice to the groundlings. Performers should give the audience a compelling reason to look at them, and to signal that the stage is different than the seats. Nudie suits certainly did that.

It didn’t really register with the audience at the time, but Elton John was a devotee. He wore a Nudie suit around the time of Rocket Man, for instance:

You could infer that Nudie suits were a gateway drug to a full Liberace addiction, but then again, Country singers could always hold their liquor and their rhinestones better than your average pop star.