Music Blogs

One Michael Jackson custody battle has gone unmentioned since his June 25 death. While Jackson's parents, lawyers, and ex-wives all haggle over the details of his children, Neverland, and publishing, no one has mentioned his greatest asset: his wardrobe.

Jackson was a fashionable dude. From his flood pants to his "Thriller" jacket to his missing glove, the King of Pop was also part of the first family of fashion. These rock fashionistas have a long tradition of pushing the boundaries of wardrobe as far as the musical lines they crossed. They've inspired legions of imitators and kept some clothing companies in business. The songs may fade from memory, but the gold lame and bullet bras are forever.

GALLERY: See all of the music fashionistas

The Beatles
The Fab Four of Fashion started more than a few trends. Their '67 satin, DayGlo military look inspired Coldplay more than 40 years later to dress like a bunch of Sgt. Pepper rejects cast in the latest "Mad Max" film. Still, our favorite Beatles look is the one they first wore to America, complete with matching bowl cuts. The Nehru jackets (named after Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who made them famous) they wore at Shea Stadium in '65 spawned countless imitators, including the Monkees. But then again, The Monkees ripped off a lot of Beatles stuff.

Elvis Presley
The King loved clothes and cars. And while his taste in cars stayed pretty consistent, his clothing took some crazy turns. His '50s suits (tailored by Memphis' Lansky Bros., which is still in business) morphed into '60s biker leather (check out his 1968 comeback special; no one looks better black leather), then became a studded-jumpsuit polyester freak show in the '70s. Elvis paid some serious coin for his duds. The gold suit worn on the cover of his '59 singles album, "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong," cost $10,000 and was only worn once.

Madonna
The Material Girl is arguably more influential as a fashion icon than a musical figure. From her early '80s days in fishnets in New York's dance clubs to her bullet bra-ed '90s dominatrix heyday, Madonna has reinvented herself for more than two decades with the help of fashion's biggest designers and artists. Her "Blonde Ambition" bullet-bra costume was designed by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier. The late pop artist Keith Haring designed a jacket for her during the "Like a Virgin" period. And her debut look of rubber bracelets, crucifixes, and lace was the brainchild of Maripol, another French designer and stylist who also styled Grace Jones and Debbie Harry in the early '80s.

Janis Joplin
A perennial misfit, Janis Joplin developed her own unique style as her way of saying, "f**k you" to the people who'd cast her out. She made her own clothes, put feather boas in her hair, and was an early tattoo champion. A small heart inked on her left breast is credited with putting body art into the mainstream. Joplin even turned her car into a fashion statement, having her 1965 Porsche Cabriolet painted with a psychedelic design by a friend in her band. The car, along with some of Joplin's handmade costumes, are on display at the Rock and Roll All of Fame & Museum in Cleveland.

Gram Parsons
Country rock pioneer Gram Parsons not only invented a genre but also brought the famed Nudie suits to a new generation of country-leaning hippies. Nudie Cohn was a Russian immigrant who settled in North Hollywood, California, and began making elaborate, rhinestone-covered suits for Elvis Presley (the $10K gold lame one), John Lennon, and country legends Porter Wagoner, Hank Williams, and Webb Pierce. Parsons' Nudie suit was worn on the cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers '69 album, "The Gilded Palace of Sin," and contained a design of pill bottles, pot leaves, and naked women. Pretty much of all Gram Parsons' vices.

David Byrne
No one would call the Talking Heads frontman a slave to fashion, yet there's one outfit that has cemented his membership in rock's first family of style: the Big Suit. Byrne had the suit designed for the band's 1984 revolutionary concert film, "Stop Making Sense." Byrne wears it for the song "Girlfriend Is Better," looking as if he may drown inside of it. The suit (and choreography) was inspired by Japanese musical drama called Noh. No word if the suit caused a Japanese big suit craze.

Boy George
Yes, he's a bad date and looks crappy in an orange jumpsuit, but Boy George made pancake makeup safe for cross-dressers everywhere. George was originally part of the early '80s U.K. New Romantic movement, which drove his makeup choices. However, by the time he was hot on MTV, his look was singularly his own. His baggy, androgynous Amish look inspired an army of '80s Culture Club imitators. Plus, the hat and baggy clothes are a great way to hide hair loss and weight gain.

David Bowie
He was Ziggy. He was the Thin White Duke. He even wrote a song called "Fashion." David Bowie sits at the head of the fashionista table. Clothing has always been at the center of Bowie's character inspiration. Ziggy Stardust's fashion muse was Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto, who said he loved designing clothes for Bowie/Ziggy because he was "neither man nor woman." Bowie has received the ultimate compliment (or insult, depending on your point of view) for a fashion god: In 2007, Target announced a line of clothing inspired by Bowie's looks. Pick up your platform shoes next to the 12-pack of paper towels.

Run-DMC
The trio from Queens defined the look for the entire hip-hop nation. Before they came along, early '80s MCs and DJs' looks owed more to glam than the 'hood. Rappers like Grandmaster Flash and Sugarhill Gang were decked out in satin and leather. It was Run-DMC's early manager (and DJ Run's older brother), Russell Simmons, who encouraged them to emulate a street-wise b-boy style. Their gold chains, brimmed hats, and Adidas instantly became the uniform for any rapper who wanted street cred. The all-important detail of wearing Adidas without laces was inspired by a hard fact of jail life: inmates are not allowed to have laces for fear of them hanging themselves. It gives a whole new meaning to their '86 single "My Adidas."

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