In 1978, The Clash released the song “Jail Guitar Doors,” inspired by the imprisonment of musician Wayne Kramer, founder of Detroit’s legendary '60s rock band, the MC5.
In 2007, to honor Clash frontman Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg launched a UK initiative named after the song, providing musical instruments to inmates in Her Majesty’s Prisons. Two years later, in 2009, Kramer teamed up with Bragg to bring the mission to the U.S., founding Jail Guitar Doors USA — continuing the work of rehabilitation through music in American jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities.
The circle is unbroken.
