[Dixielandjazz] Al Capone a Song Writer?

[Robert Ringwald]

Al Capone, songwriter
A Cappella Group to Put in Work on Classic from Al Capone
by Mike Thomas
Chicago Sun-Times, March 31, 2011
Ask a tourist or a local to imitate the sound they most associate with mythologized
underworld thug Al Capone, and you're far more likely to hear the rat-a-tat-tat of
a tommy gun than the lilting strains of "Madonna Mia."
A love song that was transcribed, or written down, by the musically inclined Capone
while he did time in Alcatraz for tax evasion, "Madonna Mia" came to the public's
attention a couple of years ago when New York-based historical documents dealer Kenneth
W. Rendell put Capone's inscribed, handwritten score up for sale.
Framed and paired with a classic black-and-white photo of Scarface sporting a fedora
and holding a cigar, it's still available for purchase -- and might stay that way,
considering the $65,000 price tag (
www.historical-autographs.com
).
Not long ago, Rich Larson of the locally rooted caponefanclub.com assembled musicians
to record a version that features several instrumentalists and two vocalists. Now
it's been gussied up even more -- sans instruments.
In concerts Friday through April 10, as part of a program that traces the city's
history through music, Chicago a cappella will perform a voice-only rendition in
nine-part harmony.
"I'm trying to describe this music to people who've never heard it, and it sounds
to me like early '50s, late 1940s kind of pop," says Matt Greenberg, who'll sing
the solo part accompanied by a vocal sinfonietta of sorts, complete with horns and
violins. "Think of Perry Como, Vic Damone, Al Martino -- kind of the B-level. Not
quite Sinatra's quality. But it's this kind of croony, sentimental love song."
A sample: "In a quaint Italian garden / While the stars were all aglow / Once I heard
a lover singing / To the one that he loved so."
Awww. Kind of makes you forget how allegedly handy Big Al was with a baseball bat.
But Chicago a cappella music director Patrick Sinozich, who arranged the tune, was
unfazed by Capone's shady persona. That aspect, in fact, never occurred to him.
The piece, he says, fits perfectly with the program's other selections, such as a
campaign song for Abraham Lincoln and a setting of Carl Sandburg's poem "Prayers
of Steel."
"My initial opinion was this is very charming, slightly cheesy, but very sincere
and very much of the time period."
Doubts linger, however, about the song's true composer. Was it Capone, who never
is explicitly identified as such, or did he filch the wistful weeper from someone
else and claim credit?
Jonathan Eig, Chicago-based author of "Get Capone," puts more stock in the latter.
"Not to be a cynic," Eig says, "but I wouldn't be surprised if he stole the words
and lyrics."
While Sinozich allows that "Madonna Mia" could be stolen, "it also could be something
he heard from someone else." Maybe a grandmother? An aunt?
"It sounds very old country, almost like an Italian art song."
One whose survival would surely please Capone -- even if the machine guns will always
drown it out.


--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
530/ 642-9551 Office
916/ 806-9551 Cell
Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV

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