The Purple Gang, also known as the Sugar House Gang, were a mob with predominantly Jewish members of bootlegger

Rum-running

Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...

s and hijackers in the 1920s, operating out of Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, which was a major port for running alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 products during Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 due to proximity to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Many openly violent crimes caused a string of convictions of Purple Gang members, while the intra-gang violence damaged their organization and its ability to control its turf.

A line in the Elvis Presley hit "Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock may refer to:*Jailhouse Rock , a 1957 film starring Elvis Presley*"Jailhouse Rock", a song first recorded by Elvis Presley*Jailhouse rock...

" is "The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang ... "