I Was Johnny Cash's Tailor

Manuel Cuevas, the man who created and made the suits that defined "the Man in Black" - country singer, Johnny Cash, talks to Andrew McGibbon.

Manuel Cuevas is the "King of Cowboy Bling". He has been designing clothes since he was a boy - barely 7 years old - in his native Mexico. His Nashville store is where all the stars get their threads. But from 1969 Manuel was hired to design Johnny Cash's legendary black suits and formed an extraordinary relationship with the iconic star.

In I Was... Johnny Cash's Tailor, Manuel Cuevas tells the story of his tailoring relationship with the country singer and how he saw the metaphysical black in Johnny's character and couldn't resist making him black suits.

This is a charming story about the spiritual relationship between a tailor and the most inscrutable and enduring country music star ever.

Written and presented by Andrew McGibbon

A Curtains for Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2017.