03.01.08
Al “Fingers” Capone
Of all the wonders and horrors of the Al Capone legend, I’ll bet you didn’t know that he once played banjo in a band with Machine Gun Kelly.
In late 1934, convict Capone was transferred from the federal prison in Atlanta to Alcatraz, the toughest prison in the country. As recounted by Gus Russo in his fine book, The Outfit (Bloomsbury, 2001):
After a year of begging, Capone persuaded the warden to allow him twenty minutes a day to form a band with other prisoners. Al had his family send him top of the line banjos, mandolins, and music charts and he succeeded in teaching himself some rudimentary songs. On drums was “Machine Gun” Kelly, while sax chores were handled by kidnapper Harmon Whaley. The ensemble was disbanded after a violent row erupted during a rehearsal.
According to legend, the sound of a ghostly banjo can still sometimes be heard wafting from Capone’s old cell. If you want, you can visit Alcatraz today and perhaps shake a shank to some spectral hot jazz.
