The Man That Dressed The King.

January 7 th Bill Belew passed away in Palm Springs at the age of 76. He had had a lengthy battle with diabetes. The name may seem obscure but the relevance is awesome. Mr. Belew was the man that gave us Gold lamay Elvis, Bejeweled cape and rhinestone studded jumpsuit Elvis, and my personal favorite; black leather Elvis.

For Elvis' historic comeback television special in 1968, Mr. Belew created a style befitting a king and continued through the 70's to be his personal designer and fashion mentor. All of those bedazzled suits were through Mr. Belew's vision. Soon after Elvis started wearing his clothes, other pop stars began demanding them. The Osmonds, The Four Tops, Earth Wind and Fire, and the Jacksons all were clients for the man.

To him I'm personally indebted for the black leather jumpsuit. It made me gay. I know they say that sitting to close to the television was bad for the vision, but I think it amplified my gay genes. I initially gave credit to Robert Conrad in Wild Wild West but further studies have led back to the King. Thank you Mr. Belew.