ROB: I was out at my buddy's place in Long Island,
and his wife definitely makes the best lasagna
I've ever had in my life. JERSEY JON: Really?
ROB: At the end of dinner, he comes out and goes,
"Hey, you got to have some of this liqueur.
Here's the thing, it's made out of wood."
JERSEY JON: Are you talking about nocino?
ROB: Nocino, that's what he called it.
JERSEY JON: Dude, that's made out of walnuts!
ROB: It's made out of wood, dude.
JERSEY JON: It's the green husks from the walnuts, dude.
That's cool, I make stain out of that. Like, you take--
ROB: So, you're trying to tell me I was drinking stain?
JERSEY JON: It's a killer wood stain.
ROB: I'm drinking this stuff,
you're talking about it as a stain!
JERSEY JON: It's a black stain. It's so dark,
you can't handle it with your hands.
ROB: Whoa. JERSEY JON: Yeah.
ROB: Question. JERSEY JON: Yeah?
ROB: Is my tongue still black? (Jersey Jon laughs)
(phone rings)
(phone ringing tone)
MIKE: Dani, what's up?
DANIELLE: Hey, where are you at right now?
MIKE: I am about an hour from Columbia.
What's going on? DANIELLE: Okay, don't hate me,
but I need you to turn back around.
It's gonna be worth it. You're going to enjoy this.
I don't have any photos yet, but I just got a call from Steve
and Steve has a ton of Hank Williams Jr. memorabilia.
You're gonna want to turn around.
MIKE: Like what? What kind of stuff?
DANIELLE: I'm talking shirts, hats, gold records.
MIKE: This was his actual stuff?
DANIELLE: Yeah, it's his stuff! He got it from Hank's manager.
MIKE: How far does it date back to? Did he say?
DANIELLE: The early days. Like, there's even Nudie suits in there.
MIKE: No way! Nudie suits of Hank Jr.?
DANIELLE: Yes. Of Hank Jr.'s. MIKE: Dang!
MIKE: If you're into vintage clothing,
then you know who Nudie Cohn was.
Nudie was the first designer to highly stylize
western wear for musicians and celebrities.
MIKE: So, where's he at with all this stuff? What's he doing with it?
DANIELLE: Well, Steve's a big fan so obviously
he wants to keep some of it, but he also realizes
that a lot of this really belongs in a space
where it can be seen.
And he's also trying to buy a house.
So, selling some of this would help him accomplish that.
MIKE: Oh my gosh! DANIELLE: He just called
the Nashville store, so I figured I'd call you right away.
He's so close. He's in Cullman, Alabama.
MIKE: Send me the address, man. I'll turn around.
DANIELLE: You got it. MIKE: I'll tell you what,
call Jim and see if he's around today,
because I want to be able to send him some pics
to get some legit values on this stuff.
DANIELLE: Oh, yeah, for sure. MIKE: Alright, cool!
DANIELLE: Man! I wish I was there.
I want to see it in person. I'm so excited!
MIKE: I'll send you pictures. I'll copy you and Jim on it.
DANIELLE: Awesome. Love it, love it, love it. Good luck.
MIKE: Thanks, honey. I'm gonna need it!
DANIELLE: Don't forget to send me pictures.
MIKE: So much of this kind of stuff stays in the industry
because it goes from the artist to the management
to maybe the artist's kids, and then eventually ends up
in a museum. So, to have the opportunity
to be able to buy pieces like this is insanely rare.
(honking)
MIKE: Hey. STEVE: Hey.
MIKE: You Steve? STEVE: Yes, sir.
MIKE: Hey man, I'm Mike. You talked to Dani?
STEVE: Oh, yeah, yeah. MIKE: Good to meet you, man.
Here's a flyer of ours.
It goes into a lot of this stuff.
There's some music-related things there.
STEVE: That's what I got. MIKE: Yeah. I know, that's what she said.
(laughs) MIKE: Were you a fan already?
STEVE: Hank Jr.? Since '84. MIKE: I know, man, me too.
MIKE: Dani said you worked for the manager.
STEVE: For James R. Smith. Yep. MIKE: Okay.
STEVE: I met him in 2007, and me and my wife
took out 36 trees for him.
MIKE: Oh, that's what you were doing.
STEVE: Took me and her a month and a half to do it,
but every day for lunch we got to sit with him,
and he'd tell me about managing Hank,
and I'd tell him about my Marine Corps stories.
I went in the Marine Corps at 17.
MIKE: No kidding! STEVE: God. Family. Country.
United States Marine Corps.
If it wasn't for the Marine Corps coming out of the family
I come out of, my kids wouldn't be who they are today.
Honestly. I thank God for the Marine Corps.
MIKE: I'm from Iowa. STEVE: Yeah, me too. Sioux City.
MIKE: Get out of here! STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: Dude, I went to school north of Sioux City in Hawarden.
STEVE: We worked all through that area.
I've been knocking on doors so, have a chainsaw, word travels.
STEVE: I trim trees, I take trees out.
There ain't no tree that I can't do.
I don't care if it's over the powerlines, over buildings,
it don't matter.
MIKE: I would run ads in the paper there
just for like buying old Coke machines, old bicycles,
old stuff like that. STEVE: That's how you started?
MIKE: Yeah. And I would knock on doors,
and I would buy stuff from people.
STEVE: Yep. It's easier to show you the stuff
than talk about it. You want to look?
MIKE: Yeah. Absolutely. STEVE: Alright.
MIKE: Right away, I feel a connection with Steve.
He's from Iowa, he was knocking on doors for a living,
and we're both big Hank Jr. fans.
MIKE: So, this was all his stuff right here?
STEVE: Everything here belonged to James R. Smith.
Everything in this one here is every shirt that Hank wore.
MIKE: Oh, it's a bunch of his clothing!
STEVE: Yeah, Hank wore all this stuff right here.
MIKE: No way. STEVE: Yeah.
I mean, there's oodles and oodles of stuff.
MIKE: So, this H Bar C, these guys were in California.
MIKE: H Bar C has been making authentic western wear
for something like 100 years.
They made a lot of the western clothing during the golden age
of Hollywood, and recently reopened a store
in Nashville, Tennessee.
MIKE: Nudie worked for these guys.
He designed clothing for them. STEVE: Right, right.
MIKE: Anyone from John Wayne to John Travolta
has wore their stuff.
MIKE: No way! Look at that!
STEVE: This was James R. Smith's personal coat.
MIKE: Oh, this was his coat! STEVE: That was his coat.
MIKE: Oh my gosh, that's legit.
MIKE: Coats like this tour jacket
weren't just given out to anybody.
You had to be in the inner circle.
MIKE: This was the bossman's. STEVE: Exactly.
MIKE: Dang! Look at that. STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: Wearing a coat like this
says you're directly connected to the man himself.
STEVE: We can get this one right here.
MIKE: If we're going to get serious about this stuff,
we need to set up shop.
MIKE: What do you got? Let me see.
MIKE: I want to look over every single piece
and I want to hear what Steve has to say about it,
because he got this from Mr. Smith.
MIKE: I mean, we're talking about something that's very unique,
that's extremely rare. We've got a guy in Memphis
that specializes in anything from this time period,
and I just want to be able to shoot him some pics
because like, when you're looking at Mr. Smith's coat here,
how do you put a value on that? STEVE: I don't know.
MIKE: And he's a guy that can when he's done it for so long.
STEVE: Right, right. MIKE: So, I think he'd be really good.
MIKE: I dabble in this stuff a little bit,
but I'm really fighting above my weight here.
MIKE: Let me get this here.
MIKE: Jim is with Memphis Memorabilia,
he's worked with art galleries, museums,
private collectors for years. I mean, this guy
specializes in music memorabilia.
MIKE: Here's a Bocephus coat.
Look at that one, man. That's all worn out, but man,
that's kind of just like the killer ghostly image.
The living proof.
MIKE: So epic.
MIKE: When it comes to establishing value,
I'm really starting to understand
how important Jim is gonna be.
There's so much to dissect about each piece.
MIKE: Okay. STEVE: This right here,
he gave me this one right off the bat.
There's only 12 copies of this made.
That's the Grand Ole Opry.
MIKE: This is like Hank Sr. days.
MIKE: This is a photograph of all the greats
in country music at that time period
on the most historic stage in country music,
the Ryman Auditorium.
Literally the church of country music.
MIKE: This is a photograph of a photo.
STEVE: Yep, I can see it. MIKE: See the edge of it?
STEVE: Yep. MIKE: I mean, that's sucks,
but it is capturing an image
that there's not a lot of out there.
So, if this was an original photo,
in this condition, it'd probably be worth $500 to $1,000,
you know, because, I mean, it's just got
everybody on stage.
Since it's a copy of a photograph
and it's not in really great condition, um...
I'm thinking 100 bucks.
STEVE: Sold. MIKE: Think so?
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: Okay. I appreciate that.
It's just a time that will never come again, man.
MIKE: When you walk into the Ryman, I mean,
it's the Church of Country Music.
STEVE: Oh, yeah. MIKE: It has such a presence.
And then on top of that, when you're listening to music,
you're sitting in a pew. STEVE: Right.
MIKE: Because it was a church originally.
MIKE: Yeah, so no, it's great stuff.
(upbeat music)
(phone rings)
(phone ringing tone)
ROB: What up, Dani D? JERSEY JON: What's up, Dani?
DANIELLE: Yes, good morning, gentlemen.
Are you ready for a lead?
JERSEY JON: Yeah! ROB: Yeah!
DANIELLE: Alright, so today, I'm gonna send you
to meet Edd. Now, Edd is a collector
of cars and scooters.
This dude has been wrenching on them since he was 12.
ROB: Sounds like me. DANIELLE: He's got a collection of Cadillacs.
He's got an early Rolls-Royce.
This guy's got a little bit of everything
he's fallen in love with over the years.
ROB: So, why's he selling?
DANIELLE: I think he's getting to the point where his back
is getting bad. He can't really work on these things anymore
like he used to, so that's where he's at.
ROB: I like cars. DANIELLE: Hey, listen,
be good boys. I will talk to you later. Have a good one.
ROB: Thanks Dani! See you. JERSEY JON: Thank you.
(upbeat music)
ROB: Dude, you know we're in the sticks of Alabama.
JERSEY JON: We're out there. ROB: We're out in the middle of nowhere.
JERSEY JON: Yep. ROB: This has gotta be it right here.
JERSEY JON: Yep. Ah, cool!
Whoa, look at this thing! Hey!
ROB: Hey, you Edd? JERSEY JON: Edd, how are you?
ROB: How you doing? Rob Wolfe. Nice to meet you.
EDD: Can I help you? ROB: How are you doing?
EDD: Fine, how are you buddy? ROB: You talked to Danielle?
EDD: Oh, yeah. JERSEY JON: She told you about this stuff we're looking for?
EDD: Got some old cars too. JERSEY JON: Yeah?
ROB: What's the deal with this thing?
EDD: That's a car I bought in South Carolina.
ROB: It's a '40, right? EDD: Yep. It's a '40 Ford.
Everything old is gone except the body.
ROB: What is that, a 350? EDD: 302.
EDD: When I was about 15 years old,
I bought a '48 Ford,
and my dad didn't know about it.
He got mad as the devil, naturally,
because I had no insurance and no drivers license.
Over the years, I probably had at least 50 cars, and maybe more.
JERSEY JON: How do you get in it?
ROB: I'm looking for the button. Is it under here?
EDD: Uh-huh.
JERSEY JON: There you go. Oh, that's cool.
JERSEY JON: That's neat. ROB: Look at that thing.
JERSEY JON: Wow, she's beautiful.
EDD: Thank you. ROB: I call this thing an Alabama Slammer.
EDD: That's right. SCOTT: That's it. That's it.
(laughing) JERSEY JON: Yeah, it slams.
ROB: It's got all the bells and whistles on her.
ROB: This is one of the best cars ever built.
I mean, '39 and '40? That's my go to.
I'm really hoping this guy's got some killer early Ford stuff.
ROB: Danielle said you were gonna sell us some cars maybe.
(Scott laughs) SCOTT: He might.
EDD: There's one or two in there I might sell.
ROB: Can you show me?
JERSEY JON: Can we look around a little bit?
EDD: Yeah, yeah. ROB: Wow, look at that.
JERSEY JON: Whew! ROB: There you go, Jersey.
JERSEY JON: Hell yeah! Mustang's cool.
That Caddy is nice. EDD: That's a '52 Cadillac.
This Cadillac was in the movie Long Walk Home.
JERSEY JON: With Whoopie Goldberg?
EDD: Yeah, and uh... Sissy Spacek.
ROB: Wow. You were driving it? JERSEY JON: That's cool.
EDD: Yeah. JERSEY JON: You were driving?
So, you were in the movie. EDD: Yeah.
JERSEY JON: You're famous, dude! (laughs)
ROB: When's the last time this bad boy was on the road?
EDD: About uh, 10 years ago.
ROB: Scott, what were you driving?
SCOTT: He never let me drive any of them.
(laughter)
JERSEY JON: You were too wild back then?
SCOTT: No, no, I just, I don't know,
I can't even back them out now. He has to back them out of here.
(laughter) SCOTT: I'm still not allowed.
ROB: The fact is, it's a four-door.
Yes, it's desirable to most people,
but not to me. It's got to have two.
ROB: What's up with this '39 next to you?
EDD: It's a '39 Cadillac. JERSEY JON: Wow.
SCOTT: That's a limousine. JERSEY JON: The second I see this Caddy,
I think of The Godfather movie
because they used this Caddy in there.
The Cadillac name, it evokes the image of wealth and power.
ROB: See that Jersey? This post comes out.
JERSEY JON: What? EDD: Cadillac called it the ambulance car.
ROB: Ambulance car. SCOTT: They would use them
as ambulances also, and what happened was,
we think they had them like this.
We've done a little research on it. They had a wheelchair.
ROB: Oh, there you go. Right there. JERSEY JON: It comes right out.
SCOTT: It's kind of heavy. ROB: It comes right out.
SCOTT: They'd pick him up in his wheelchair and slide him in the back.
ROB: So, the wheelchair would just sit in there with him in it?
SCOTT: Correct. EDD: Yeah, that's what it was made for.
ROB: Wow. Wow! JERSEY JON: It's like FDR
could've been driving around in this car.
SCOTT: Yeah, exactly. ROB: This is a beauty, man.
JERSEY JON: It's a nice car.
ROB: To me, everything that was built in the 1930s
is desirable. Ford brought out the Cabriolet,
they brought out the '32 Ford Deuce, the three-windows,
and then Cadillac, LaCelle, Packard, all these guys
were chasing each other.
It was all about the design, the flow of the car.
ROB: '39 was always a great year, Edd.
EDD: Yeah. ROB: It's still a four-door,
but it's still desirable. It had such an iconic look.
JERSEY JON: I love it, man. With the waterfall, like, grills.
It's a beautiful car. ROB: You got a number in mind?
EDD: Not really. ROB: Huh.
EDD: That '39, there's no telling the money
I got in that car. I'm just not one to sell cars.
I've got most of the ones I've had.
ROB: Aerodynamics at its best.
JERSEY JON: Yeah, man. Streamline. 1930s.
SCOTT: I gotta go. It was nice meeting you guys.
ROB: Where you headed off to? SCOTT: I gotta get back to work.
JERSEY JON: You getting out of here? Hey, nice meeting you.
JERSEY JON: Appreciate your help today. SCOTT: I'll see you later.
SCOTT: Take care. See you. JERSEY JON: Take care, buddy.
ROB: Can I look around at some of our parts in here?
EDD: Oh, yeah.
ROB: I think I got into your stash of Chevelle parts up here.
EDD: Alright. ROB: Beauty rings.
And the center cap.
These are the deep dish rings too.
EDD: Mm-hmm. ROB: All the tabs are still on them.
JERSEY JON: What are you finding, Robbie?
ROB: Some Chevelle parts. Let me see.
JERSEY JON: Do these ones match?
Nah, that one's different. EDD: Yeah.
ROB: That's different than these two.
JERSEY JON: Let me look back here, Robbie.
ROB: What do you gotta have for these, Edd?
EDD: Make me an offer.
ROB: 25 bucks.
EDD: Okay. I'll take that for them.
ROB: That work? EDD: Yeah.
ROB: Alright. EDD: I don't remember--
JERSEY JON: Thanks buddy. ROB: Thank you.
JERSEY JON: Appreciate you letting us in here to buy
some stuff. That's great.
MIKE: Is that Mr. Smith? STEVE: Yeah, this is the first
picture Hank got taken after he come off the mountain
when he was making his comeback.
STEVE: 1975, Hank Jr. fell 540 feet off this mountain.
Got him the best surgeons, got him some psychiatrists,
and the rest is history.
STEVE: That's when he started writing
A Country Boy Can Survive album.
Right there. MIKE: No kidding. Dang!
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: Look at that check.
10 million bucks.
I mean, that's a ton of money, but imagine how much money
that was back then. That's crazy!
STEVE: Look at that smile on his face.
MIKE: I know! Look at that smile on his face!
STEVE: Told you I had it. MIKE: Hell yeah!
STEVE: James R. Smith was a genius
when it come to business. No matter what he touched
turned to gold. Literally.
MIKE: Look at that one. Yeah. STEVE: Presented.
MIKE: Presented to Hank Williams Jr.
to commemorate sale of more than 500,000 copies.
STEVE: Here's the one matching James R. right there.
MIKE: Okay. STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: So, it's wild that he had his copy and his.
STEVE: Yeah, see, that's what I mean.
When they split up, who knows what was going on with him.
MIKE: Oh, I see what you're saying.
STEVE: And Hank Jr., from what I hear,
he don't really care about, you know, old stuff.
MIKE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we're gonna find out.
MIKE: The coolest thing about this
is that Steve is the furthest thing from the industry.
He came about these pieces,
one, from his hard work,
but two, because he was a huge Hank Williams Jr. fan.
MIKE: Was he giving you this stuff little bits
at a time over years? STEVE: Well, when I first
worked for him, I got the Nudie's vest, HW Jr. vest.
MIKE: Would it be every time you started going over there?
STEVE: Not every time. Not every time.
STEVE: You know, 'cause we worked for him
two or three times a year from 2007 until 2022.
MIKE: When did he pass?
STEVE: In June of 2022.
MIKE: Okay. STEVE: And we went to the funeral and Tess,
his wife, said, "We need some help moving."
So, we got everything moved out of that house
and there were these boxes right here and Tess said,
"Them are yours." I just about fell out.
STEVE: I loved the energy I got from him.
You know, you just stand taller.
And every time I got around him,
you'd see his eyes, they'd light up and he'd smile.
"Hey, Steve."
JERSEY JON: What is going on with that thing up there?
EDD: That is a railroad bench
out of the train station my father worked in.
ROB: How do you get up there, Edd?
EDD: Oh, the stairs. ROB: Watch your head, Jersey.
JERSEY JON: Yeah, you got it, bro. Hold on a second.
ROB: Oh, yeah, man. Look at them stars.
JERSEY JON: I love it, man!
JERSEY JON: This is like a commercial piece of furniture
and it's really unique.
The way that it's constructed is like a regular bench,
but the seating is like, made out of
a lamination of veneers.
So, it's really cool how that was done.
It's like one continuous lamination from the seat
to the back. Made by Ford and Johnson.
It's got a beautiful little brass tag
right in the middle of it.
JERSEY JON: So, it was in the railroad station.
Do you remember it, as a kid, being there?
Do you remember seeing this bench in there?
EDD: Yeah. It had two waiting rooms.
JERSEY JON: Uh-huh? EDD: Colored and white.
JERSEY JON: Oh, no kidding! ROB: Oh. Yeah.
JERSEY JON: Yeah, we are in Alabama.
EDD: And I can remember that.
JERSEY JON: So it was segregated?
EDD: Yeah. JERSEY JON: Wow.
EDD: My father was a freight agent
in Ozark, Alabama for some 40 years.
After he retired, they closed the station.
He took those benches out of the train station.
I imagine they gave one to him. He had several of them.
JERSEY JON: I love the story of this thing. It's so cool.
This went through World War I and World War II.
Did you serve? EDD: I was in the Army.
JERSEY JON: You were in the Army?
EDD: Army and National Guard. JERSEY JON: And National Guard.
Well, thank you for your service.
I really appreciate that. ROB: Thank you.
JERSEY JON: Think about all the history
that this thing has seen. The Suffrage Movement,
both World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement.
JERSEY JON: I love the bench. I mean, it's just,
it's got some condition problems.
EDD: Oh, yeah. (laughs)
If you were 120 years old, you would too.
(laughter)
JERSEY JON: I'm dying to fix this thing.
I'm dying to bring it back so it's useable,
because these veneers delaminated.
You have to take all the veneers, laminations apart
and put it back together in a vacuum press,
which I do all the time. I know how to do this kind of work.
EDD: I'd like to see it repurposed.
I mean, it does no good up there.
JERSEY JON: Yeah. ROB: This would be a perfect
candidate for a restaurant. JERSEY JON: I'll tell you what.
Because it needs work, I can do like 400 bucks.
Would you do that? EDD: Sounds fair to me.
JERSEY JON: Ah, beautiful!
EDD: Think he found a gold nugget or something.
(laughs)
ROB: Watch yourself. Don't fall in that hole.
JERSEY JON: Yeah, I know dude. Careful, careful, careful.
Alright. ROB: Right there. I'll go down.
JERSEY JON: You go downstairs and I'll slide this down to you.
(grunts)
ROB: Jersey, why do I always have things to do with wood?
JERSEY JON: Get down there, Robbie!
ROB: See how that works, Edd?
I'm the one down here. "Yeah, go ahead, just drop her down!"
JERSEY JON: You got it, Robbie?
ROB: I don't have it yet. I don't have it yet.
JERSEY JON: Careful, Robbie. ROB: Settle down.
I don't want to break it. EDD: Stand it straight up.
ROB: Settle down.
JERSEY JON: Alright, I'll be right there. Hold on.
EDD: Yeah, it's not the money.
JERSEY JON: You did it yourself? (laughs)
EDD: It's more about somebody getting it, appreciating it,
and it not deteriorating further than it is.
It's definitely not the money.
JERSEY JON: The color's good, Robbie.
ROB: I think you can put some of that nocino stuff.
JERSEY JON: Nocino, that's right, brother!
MIKE: Okay, so, he's starting to hit me back
with some numbers on some of this stuff.
So, here's the records. Okay.
Hank Williams Jr. Rowdy, 1981.
He's saying that if there's nothing warped
and it's an artist record, this is $1,000 to $1,500.
If they're warped, they're ruined.
MIKE: And he didn't even give me a number on them.
This one looks pretty flat to me, doesn't it you?
STEVE: Yeah, it looks pretty good.
MIKE: Looks pretty good. You've got the JR Smith one, too.
STEVE: Where'd we put it?
MIKE: Okay, there it is. Okay. STEVE: Yep.
MIKE: So, this one looks...
That's coming up on the top a little bit, see?
STEVE: Needs a little work. MIKE: So, that one's a little bit warped.
But, you know, I can't believe
that this wouldn't bring
some sort of number to this one.
Meaning like the set to me, even though this one has damage,
it's still for the same exact album.
STEVE: Right. MIKE: So, if this is $1,000 to $1,500,
for the pair, I'd do... like, 1,100.
STEVE: Make it 12, you got a deal.
MIKE: Alright, I'm doing it.
I mean, I appreciate you working with me at all on them.
MIKE: I think they're great and I love the fact that exist.
MIKE: Because so much of this stuff...
STEVE: I know. MIKE: Just goes on the wayside
and then it's just gone, it can't be seen.
And I want to get this to somebody that can see it.
STEVE: Oh, yeah, yeah. MIKE: You know what I mean?
And that's the big thing. STEVE: That's exactly what me and my wife talked about.
It doesn't belong in my closet.
STEVE: When you get stuff like that, along with it
comes a responsibility, you better take care of it.
And so when I sold it, it was a relief.
MIKE: These will look good in our Nashville store.
MIKE: Okay, so he's also saying on the photographs,
anywhere from $100 to $300. STEVE: Mm-hmm.
MIKE: And so, I sent him photos, like for example,
I sent him these two photographs.
What would you want for these two?
It'd be cool to keep these together.
STEVE: Actually, they're pretty nice pictures.
Give me five for both.
MIKE: So, I'd be at...
Well, three would be the high side on one,
and then I'd be at two on the other.
How about I'll step up and I'll pay 200 apiece.
You know what I mean? Just because if he's saying
100 and 3, then I'm at 2 apiece on them.
STEVE: That's fine. MIKE: There's not a lot of room,
but at the end of the day, I feel like I have a place
that can sell some of this stuff
because we have a store in downtown Nashville,
the clientele that we have coming in
would really appreciate this stuff.
STEVE: Oh, yeah. MIKE: Look at that.
Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson.
Here's George Jones and him. These are incredible.
So, you've got that version of it,
and then you've got a tighter shot.
STEVE: This was at Waylon's wedding.
MIKE: Oh, okay. STEVE: And...
MIKE: Yeah. Because you know what,
these guys were all just like in T-shirts and stuff.
STEVE: Right. MIKE: And Waylon's got a tux on.
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: Well, for the pair,
I'd do, again, a couple hundred bucks apiece.
STEVE: Alright. I got a picture shaking James R.'s hand
when he gave me this one and that box.
MIKE: I think it's cool that he understood
how important it was to you, but he also understood
the gravity of what he had.
STEVE: He knew exactly what this stuff was.
It was a priceless moment in time for him
because Hank was his, he missed Hank.
You oughta heard how he talked about him.
Nothing but good.
STEVE: Mr. Smith already managed Hank Sr.'s estate,
so he knew Hank Jr. as a boy and watched him grow up.
He needed somebody to believe in him
and to help him grow. James R. Smith was one.
MIKE: So, these are epic.
To be a fly on the wall at that party, right?
STEVE: Oh my. MIKE: What are you thinking?
STEVE: 450.
MIKE: Just because it's got George in there?
STEVE: Yeah. (laughs)
MIKE: Alright.
MIKE: This is a very personal in-depth collection
that starts at the very beginning
of Hank's career with Mr. Smith.
MIKE: So good, man. Such good stuff.
ROB: SS Convertible. EDD: '67.
ROB: How long have you owned this thing?
EDD: 35 years. JERSEY JON: Wow.
ROB: Really? Does this thing run?
JERSEY JON: Does it run? EDD: Yeah.
ROB: Jersey, can you start it?
EDD: It may be a little hard to start
and I haven't started it lately.
ROB: Got to pull the gas up, he said.
Keep going, keep cranking it. You got to pull it up.
(engine sputtering)
JERSEY JON: I don't know, man. What do you think, Edd?
ROB: It'll do it. Have faith. (engine starts)
ROB: I told you. (laughs)
Woo! It sounds good.
JERSEY JON: Sounds really good. ROB: It sounds really good.
(revving)
JERSEY JON: That thing was like a rocket.
You could feel the motor vibrating these old muscle cars.
ROB: Ain't no better sound than that.
(engine screeches) JERSEY JON: Whoa. Sorry.
(Edd laughs) EDD: No problem.
EDD: First one I ever bought was an SS '66 Chevelle, 396,
with all the high-performance goodies.
I used to like horsepower and that's what had it.
ROB: Is it for sale? EDD: Hell no!
(laughter)
JERSEY JON: You wouldn't entertain an offer?
EDD: No. ROB: That was a quick one.
ROB: He's just not ready to sell. I can sense that.
I'd love to buy the 40, I'd love to buy the Chevelle,
I'd love to buy that green Cadillac.
Edd just doesn't want to sell them.
JERSEY JON: I mean, these things are really hot,
you know. I mean, muscle cars have been climbing in value.
ROB: Four speed, 396 convertible.
JERSEY JON: It doesn't get much better than that, right?
ROB: Looking at the Chevelle, I mean, this thing
was a high-performance motor back in the day.
Maybe he's got some other
high-performance parts around here.
(upbeat music)
MIKE: Look, he sent me a text.
He's saying the black tour jacket,
high retail on that is 500.
The significance of it was that it was the manager's.
STEVE: Right. MIKE: Because there were a lot of tour jackets.
I love the H Bar C stuff.
There's some pants. Who made these?
The Cosmic Cowboy Collection by Buccaneer.
To me, this looks like a merch jacket.
This is a jacket they sold.
And there's another one here, two of them.
This is in nicer condition than the other one.
STEVE: Yep. MIKE: And then here's another one inside of that one.
Oh, yeah, look at that jacket, man. That's silk.
There's 12 pieces total. If we do a jumping off point
like the tour jacket, you know,
he's saying 500 on that retail.
MIKE: I feel like I have my finger on the pulse
on some of this vintage concert merch,
because we've sold so much of it over the years
in Nashville, and I deal with a lot of vintage clothing
buyers and sellers that specialize
in this stuff as well.
MIKE: Do you think these were his boots?
STEVE: I'm not sure, sir.
MIKE: Do you know if Mr. Smith would've had this size boot?
STEVE: No. MIKE: Or was this big for him?
STEVE: Mr. Smith was a businessman,
he never wore cowboy boots.
MIKE: So, these probably were Hank's.
1,500 with the boots.
STEVE: Let's do it. MIKE: We doing it?
STEVE: Yep. MIKE: Okay. Thank you very much.
STEVE: This picture right here.
That picture right there, and this one.
One's a little bit different,
but I got this jacket over there.
MIKE: Okay. So, when you're saying over there,
where are you talking about?
STEVE: Right in this RV right here.
MIKE: Okay, can we look at that stuff too?
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: Yeah, I mean, I want to look at it all.
MIKE: I'd love to see it. STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: Absolutely.
STEVE: Yeah, I put them Nudie suits in here.
Got to keep them better protected.
MIKE: Yeah, I hear you. How many you got?
STEVE: Got two Nudie suits,
but I got other stuff that's Nudie too.
MIKE: The very first time I saw Nudie's work
was on a white Pontiac convertible.
The leather tooling, the six-shooter door handles.
It was so impactful, I wanted to know more about the man.
MIKE: Does this hat have his name in it?
STEVE: It ain't got his name, but that's a Nudie hat.
MIKE: Oh, it is. STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: So, it's got the Nudie brand in it?
STEVE: Yep. MIKE: Right there, yeah.
Nudie Rodeo Tailors, North Hollywood, California.
I'll send Jim some pictures of this.
MIKE: When I first moved to Nashville,
went to the Country Music Hall of Fame
and saw for the first time
the clothing that he had designed
for so many different country artists over decades.
It was like the switch was flipped.
I wanted to own one of the pieces that he created.
STEVE: These are my Nudie suits. MIKE: Man...
STEVE: There's plenty of pictures of him wearing these.
MIKE: Yeah. Can we take this out of the plastic?
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: And over the last 13 years
that we've been in Nashville,
I've only been able to buy one of his pieces.
MIKE: Wow. Oh my gosh.
MIKE: Nudie was the man who told stories
with rhinestones and chain stitching.
He made stuff for everyone
from John Lennon, to Ronald Reagan, to Elvis,
and on top of that, he made clothing
for Hank Sr. and Hank Jr.
MIKE: Is Hank's name in here anywhere?
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: On any of the suits?
STEVE: Yeah. Look. MIKE: Where?
STEVE: Right here. MIKE: Oh my gosh!
I didn't even see that! No way! STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: No way! Oh my gosh. STEVE: Look at the back.
MIKE: Oh my gosh! Wow! Wow!
STEVE: All the way down the legs too.
MIKE: Incredible. Oh, yeah. Look at that.
STEVE: Old Nudie knew how to make them, didn't he?
MIKE: Oh, my God, these are incredible!
MIKE: This is like the top of the Country Music Mountain for me.
I mean, I'm holding a suit made by Nudie,
worn by Hank Jr.
MIKE: This is like total museum-quality stuff.
STEVE: Oh, yeah. MIKE: This is something...
MIKE: This is something that should be
in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
STEVE: And that's exactly why I need...
Imagine that stuff staying in a place like this
where, when I leave, I shut off
the air conditioner and everything.
MIKE: Yeah. STEVE: This stuff wouldn't be
in this nice condition if I held onto it.
MIKE: I mean, Nudie, I mean, you're familiar
with his story, right? He was the guy that created,
you know, the embellishing the rhinestone cowboy look
in the late '40s in Hollywood, California,
and some of his first customers
were like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
MIKE: He single-handedly reinvented the image
of the American cowboy on film and stage.
Before Nudie, they were just dusty cowboys.
After him, they were star-spangled heroes.
MIKE: That kind of set them on the path for anything
from Flying Burrito Brothers to Elvis. It's incredible.
Here, hold that. I want to take a picture of this.
I got to send this out to him immediately.
MIKE: It says Hank Williams Jr. down the leg, down the arm,
in the front, on the back.
But it's done so well, it's like you have to look at it
to really see it. It's in the musical notes.
It's right in the bars. It's genius.
It's exactly the kind of suit
you would expect him to make for Hank Jr.
MIKE: Oh my gosh. Let's see this one.
Wow.
Let me see the sleeve.
So yeah, you can see right here.
STEVE: All the down the front on both sides, both sleeves.
And the back. Again.
MIKE: Let me get some pics of this one, man.
This stuff is epic. Phew.
Let me see this jacket. STEVE: Let me look at that one.
MIKE: Do you care if I try that jacket on?
STEVE: No, no. MIKE: I know it's not gonna fit me,
I just want to put it on. Are you kidding me?
STEVE: Honestly, this is the only piece I tried on,
but I went and took a shower first.
(laughs) MIKE: Hell yeah.
MIKE: Never did I ever think
I would have the opportunity
to put on Hank Jr's Nudie suit.
STEVE: Isn't it wild how heavy that is?
MIKE: Yeah!
Wow.
Woo!
MIKE: There's a lot going on here, you know.
Because I'm a Hank Sr. fan, I'm a Hank Jr. fan,
I'm a Nudie fan, and it's all just
coming together right here in this suit.
MIKE: Oh, yeah.
(exhales deeply)
(chuckles)
MIKE: Ah...
STEVE: That's how I felt when I first tried it.
MIKE: I don't know man, I don't know.
You just want to spend some time in it. It's a piece of art.
STEVE: It is, really. But here. There's more.
MIKE: Oh, heck. Okay.
(upbeat music)
(grunts)
ROB: So, Edd, what are those heads off of?
EDD: Probably a 427. ROB: 427?
The valve job on this side is already--
EDD: It's been finished. And that's a 427 block in there too.
ROB: I did see a crank.
So you have all the pieces to a 427?
EDD: I don't know, to be honest with you.
ROB: I'm wondering what else is here to this motor.
ROB: What would you want to have for the whole thing
if I took the whole thing? EDD: What's it worth to you?
ROB: Would you do 1,000 bucks?
EDD: Yeah, I'd do 1,000.
Let's see what's there, because I don't want
to mislead you anyway.
ROB: Right. Well, I want to see the engine block and all that.
EDD: That's right in there. ROB: These uh...
they went on the same car? EDD: Off a '64 Chevelle.
ROB: 200. EDD: You got it.
ROB: I think they'll clean up nice.
So, I'm gonna go look at this engine,
see what else I can dig out here.
ROB: In the 1960s, Ford and Chevy
were competing against each other.
It was all about Daytona, about NASCAR.
Smokey Yunick built the mystery engine
and blew them out of the water.
No one knew what this engine was.
It was a 427. In 1966,
Chevy offers it in the Camaro and the Corvette.
ROB: And then '68, '69,
they start detuning this motor
and they offer it in every model.
From a station wagon, to an Impala, to a truck.
But the Corvettes had the high compression engines in them.
If that's what this motor is, this is a good day.
MIKE: Oh-ho-ho!
STEVE: Now, he gave me that one while he was still alive.
MIKE: Wow. STEVE: That's nice, ain't it?
MIKE: Incredible.
MIKE: The stuff we're seeing in this space
is definitely the higher caliber items
of this collection.
MIKE: Let's see, Hank Williams Jr.
Alberta Tour, '84.
Another one.
Hank Williams Jr. Special on the USS Constellation.
STEVE: I got a picture of him on the USS Constellation
with his wife holding this in his arms.
MIKE: Let me get a couple shots of this.
Where's the vest at you keep telling me about?
STEVE: I got that right here.
MIKE: Oh, it's leather! STEVE: Yeah.
MIKE: Oh man! STEVE: When I first got this,
I'd done 36 trees for him,
and he went ahead and took me and my wife in
and showed the whole collection. MIKE: Yeah, yeah.
STEVE: So, then James R., he said, "Take your pick."
I said, "Let me have that vest." He said, "I'll do it."
He put it right in my hand. So, as soon as he gave it to me,
I went ahead and took my shirt off, I stuck it on,
I jumped on the stump grinder and I'm riding
the stump grinder, grinding stumps with it on.
(laughing) MIKE: In front of him?
STEVE: Oh, yeah. MIKE: Was he laughing?
STEVE: Oh, yeah. They were taking pictures, everything.
I've been wearing it to church since 2007.
I walked in that door, stood at the front of the door,
everybody turned to look at me and I went...
(laughs)
ROB: Here's the pan. EDD: Yeah. That's a manifold.
ROB: Here's a crank. Another head right here.
There's a water pump.
ROB: One thing about Edd,
you can tell the guy was meticulous.
EDD: Flywheel.
ROB: This shelf is where
he put everything as he was building it.
ROB: Here's an exhaust.
ROB: Most engine builders do. They lay everything out.
EDD: Should be everything there.
ROB: As I'm looking at all the parts,
I'm hoping this is a 427 high compression motor.
It's all about going fast.
ROB: So, the only thing that's missing here
looks like, is the block.
EDD: There it is right over there.
ROB: Okay.
ROB: The engine block will tell me
everything I need to know.
ROB: Oh, yeah, definitely needs to be cleaned up.
ROB: Looking at the heads on this engine and the manifold,
this is a low compression 427.
It's still good. All the parts are here to rebuild it,
so it's like buying a brand new motor,
I just have to assemble it.
ROB: If I gave you an extra 100 bucks, can I take the stand?
EDD: You can take it. ROB: That work?
EDD: Yeah. ROB: So, everything I need
to put it together, 1,100 bucks. EDD: Right.
ROB: Alright, buddy. Appreciate it. Thank you.
ROB: I've got a perfect project for this. I got a 1963
short box Chevy.
We're gonna make this thing into the nastiest pickup truck alive.
EDD: I got something else over here you might be interested in.
ROB: Alright. EDD: We'll have to dig it out.
(phone ringing tone)
JIM: Hello? MIKE: Jim.
JIM: Yeah. MIKE: Hey, did you get
those photos I sent you?
JIM: Yeah, I did. I had to take it all in, you know.
MIKE: I know! I bet! I'm taking it all in,
and it's right here in my hands right now, I'm touching it.
JIM: Yeah, well, you know, it's not every day
you come across Nudie suits like this,
so these are exceptional finds.
MIKE: What year are you thinking...
So, these would've been made... STEVE: Seventy...
MIKE: Are you thinking like '72 through '75?
STEVE: Yeah, exactly. JIM: It's in that timeframe,
you know, when he was an emerging artist
and in looking at them,
they're in really, really good condition.
MIKE: They're in exceptional condition.
What are you thinking on them? Did you get a chance
to digest them at all?
JIM: Yeah, I have. And, you know, both the suits
are stylized really well.
They could be anywhere
from in the 6 to $8,000 range, easily.
MIKE: Okay. JIM: And that's if they ended up at an auction.
MIKE: So, you think the high side on them is 8k?
JIM: Yeah, I think so.
You know, there's one photo of him on stage in North Texas,
it was taken by the TV station, so that pretty much IDs it.
MIKE: Okay. JIM: Nudie suits,
they're like a form of social currency
between rockstars and collectors.
Dylan gave one to Ringo. MIKE: Okay.
JIM: Elvis gave one to Elton.
MIKE: These were purchased by his manager.
STEVE: Yeah. MIKE: And that's where he got them from, is from the manager.
JIM: That's great. Very seldom you find them
from the source like this, and this really speaks well
of the management. It's super cool
that you were able to find these, Mike.
MIKE: Well, that's all we've done so far, is find them.
So, we're looking at two suits here,
he's got two pairs of pants,
it looks like they're a stock pant
that was probably tailored to him.
JIM: Yeah, and Nudie did that. There are people
that just went in there just to buy
a straight looking suit.
They like the way that he cut the cloth.
MIKE: Absolutely. JIM: Those are at least
1,000 each.
MIKE: What about the tour jackets?
He's got a silver one and a black one.
JIM: The black one, that's from Alberta?
MIKE: Yeah, exactly.
And it was actually manufactured in Canada.
JIM: That's a great tour jacket,
Canadians love country music.
Tour jackets bring anywhere in the $1,000 range.
MIKE: And then he also has a silver one here.
Is that the same price as the other one?
JIM: That's a good benchmark, around $1,000 for tour jackets.
That's a fair price. MIKE: Okay.
Did you get the, um, Western cut shirt?
The one with the panel on the front of it
with all the buttons that says Hank Williams Jr.?
It's made by a company called Fenton.
JIM: Fenton, yeah. They're well known.
I think at least $1,000 on that.
MIKE: Okay. I'm completely overwhelmed
by all of this stuff.
JIM: Yeah, it's a little bit of a sensory overload.
MIKE: I very much appreciate you helping us out.
JIM: Yeah, by all means. MIKE: Thank you so much.
I'll see you in Nashville. JIM: Okay.
MIKE: Alright, bye. JIM: Alright. Good luck.
ROB: Oh.
(Rob laughs)
ROB: Hoo-hoo-hoo.
Yesirree Bobaroono.
Look at that bad boy.
That's a nice manifold. EDD: Mm-hmm.
ROB: How come I don't get that with the engine?
EDD: Not with that one. That's a 427-435 horse manifold.
ROB: This manifold is for a high compression 427 motor,
it just won't fit these heads.
EDD: You see W on it? ROB: Yeah.
EDD: Right there.
That right there makes it worth a good bit.
ROB: What's a good bit? EDD: Well, you tell me.
ROB: Weiand was one of the companies
that were an aftermarket performance company.
The funny thing is, people couldn't figure out
how to pronounce Weiand,
so they would, on the early parts,
put, "Say Why-And."
ROB: 300.
EDD: 350.
ROB: Thanks. I appreciate it. EDD: I thought you might
be interested in that. I would've been.
ROB: Well, heck yeah. Look at it.
ROB: I can't even fathom that motor put together.
EDD: Mm-hmm. ROB: It's gonna go in a short bed Chevy of mine.
EDD: Is it? ROB: Heck yeah.
EDD: Alright! ROB: Heck yeah.
EDD: It was pleasant. No problems.
Y'all, every one of you are really nice.
JERSEY JON: Can you do it? ROB: Settle down, Jersey.
JERSEY JON: Haha! Is it gonna fit?
ROB: I don't know. Freaking... JERSEY JON: It goes on
and on and on. Nice!
JERSEY JON: I'm so glad that I found that bench today.
I mean, that thing is outrageous.
He knows that I'm gonna take it out in the world
and get it out there,
and to have people enjoy it again.
EDD: Thank y'all for coming.
ROB: Hey, I'll send you a picture of that 427
when I get it in. EDD: I'll see it.
ROB: You'll see it, because it's gonna be doing
wheelies down the road. EDD: Yeah!
ROB: Heck yeah. EDD: Well, stop making him do all the work.
(laughter) ROB: Oh, come on!
JERSEY JON: Thanks buddy. ROB: Thank you, Edd!
EDD: See y'all later! Y'all come back.
ROB: Oh, we will!
(honking)
ROB: Keep it on four wheels, Edd! Woo!
MIKE: So, the tour jackets.
He said 1,000 apiece on these.
(exhales)
Would you do six apiece?
STEVE: Six and a quarter apiece.
MIKE: Okay. I'll do that.
He said $1,000 on this shirt.
Would you do seven?
STEVE: 7,000?
No, I'm playing. (Mike laughs)
STEVE: Yeah, I'll do seven.
MIKE: So, these Nudie pants,
the greatest thing about them
is what it says on the back pocket,
and that's Hank Jr.'s name. This one here,
you can see clearly. That one you can barely see,
but you can still see it. Six apiece.
STEVE: Since it's got his name, though,
let's do six and a half.
MIKE: Alright, let's do six and a half.
Okay, thank you.
STEVE: I felt that responsibility of,
I've got to take care of this stuff,
and I can't take care of it at my level.
I ain't got the money, the wherewithal, the space.
MIKE: So, what are you thinking on these two suits?
STEVE: What are you comfortable giving?
(exhales deeply)
MIKE: I mean,
when I hear a high side number from him,
I think that number is attainable
because of the rarity of such a piece.
It's pretty epic stuff. Um...
$7,000 apiece for these suits.
STEVE: The reason I'm selling them now,
if I keep these too long, I'm living in a place like this,
they won't be museum quality.
Yeah, I'll take seven apiece.
MIKE: Thank you. STEVE: No problem.
MIKE: I really respect Steve
because he is such a huge fan of Hank Jr.'s,
but he also understands the responsibility
of taking care of this stuff
and making sure that it's seen.
He wats this to be out in the public.
MIKE: The hat?
I don't know the age of this,
and it doesn't have his name in it.
What would you feel comfortable selling it at?
STEVE: What did he say? MIKE: He said 25 to 3,
at a good auction, but as far as I'm concerned,
an auction is just like gambling,
because you don't know how much money's in someone's pocket.
STEVE: Yeah.
I'd be comfortable with 15.
MIKE: Alright, I'm doing it. I'll do it.
Thank you very much.
I'm honored.
I'm really honored, I truly am.
MIKE: The significance of the hat
is that it has the name Nudie in it,
and it obviously belonged to Hank Jr.,
because it's in this whole ensemble of clothing.
MIKE: Great. STEVE: Alright.
MIKE: God bless you, my friend. STEVE: Yes, sir.
MIKE: Thank you.
STEVE: I ain't gonna miss none of that stuff
'cause I know it's in the right place.
There's still a bunch of stuff left.
I mean, there's still enough to make a man cave out of.
(Mike laughs)
STEVE: And I still got the vest.
MIKE: Alright. Alright, my friend.
STEVE: Yes, sir. MIKE: Much respect to you.
STEVE: I appreciate you.
MIKE: I love the way you're living.
STEVE: Live free. MIKE: Yeah. That's right.
God bless you, my friend. STEVE: Thank you.
MIKE: Mr. Smith was obviously a good judge of character
to get involved with Hank Jr.,
and a guy like Steve, and I think he knew
that these pieces would eventually change Steve's life.
MIKE: See you later, buddy! STEVE: See you, sir!
(honking)