Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley (Original)

"Tom Dooley" is a North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. "Tom Dooley" is based on a true story and was inspired by an earlier song written by George Proffit. It has been chosen as a "Song of the Century" by the Recording Industry Association of America. The popularity of the song spawned the 1959 film "Legend of Tom Dooley" starring Michael Landon. The actual name of the deceased in this song is "Tom Dula" although pronounced as "Dooley" with the "a" sounding as a "y" (a common Appalachian pronunciation in much the same way as the "Opry" in Grand Ole Opry changes an "a" to a "y"). Tom Dula was hanged for this crime in 1868 in Statesville, NC where he is buried. Dula claimed his innocence all the way up to his time on the gallows where he stated, "Gentlemen, do you see this hand? I didn't harm a hair on the girl's head". "Tom Dooley" was the #1 song on the US charts during October of 1958.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Kingston Trio
• Tom Dooley
• Tom Dula
• Michael Landon

[LP1324]

my grandpa sings it everytime, when i am with him. i sing: hang down your had and my grandpa sings: tom dooley.. its very nice when we can sing together.. but its only fun. my grandpa loves old films with cowboys and guns. in one film he listened to this song and now he sing the song. its a really nice song. sorry, i am young and my english isnt very good. but i hope you know what i mean

[Nocaro]

@LP1324 Your English is fine...thanks for the note.

[Bad77Dog]

not stereo

[Nocaro]

@Bad77Dog Whoops...my error. I have corrected it above. Thanks for the heads-up.

[rodcordell]

OK, funny story. I was in high school in 1958 when this song came out. At the school we decided to have a "Spring Tom Dooley Day". Some guys in the print shop printed up fliers to promote the day. It was not sanctioned by the school and we were told we would be in trouble if we got involved. Guess what? More then half of the student body showed up in western attire. I was thrown out of one class because the teacher did not like my cowboy hat and the garters on my sleeves.

This was San Mateo, CA.

[grasspa1]

Kingston Trio they were & are the best .....

[littlelulu1946]

They were the greatest, no others can compare, let's get back to the acoustic guitar sound when we sang music that was truly American folk songs. These guys were one of a kind. You will never see the likes of this music again. Thank you for posting this.

[titularesexpress]

I came into this song in 1962 and since then is cherish as one of the best in folk music.

[Tlyna1952]

continued-Dooley's legacy continues through the work of the Dooley Foundation-Intermed International, which has carried on the work of Dr. Dooley for the past 50 years

[Tlyna1952]

@lwms1111- Actually it was written about Tom Dula who was hanged for murder. Dr. Tom Dooley was not in the war, he worked in clinics in Vietnam and Laos. He started the Medical International Cooperation Organization (MEDICO) that still is in existence today. He knew the Kingston Trio and they played this song for him when he came back to the states briefly. Sadly he died young of melanoma in 1961 and is buried in St. Louis.

[lwms1111]

@marsarmygurl Funny story. As a teenager I found a book in a used book story about Tom Dooley. I was all excited because I not only loved the song but was interested in the story behind the song. Boy was I surprised to find that it wasn't the same Tom Dooley., but was about a doctor in Vietnam. It was a interesting read, but not what I was expecting at all. LOL

[craig1974]

I highly advise people to listen to the Kingston Trio self titled album which this song is on because it is A+!!!

[cherylmarie49]

Heard this on KGLC in Miami Oklahoma when I was 10 years old. I was never much to use the telephone back then, but I got the phone number of the radio station out of the Miami Oklahoma phone directory, and cslled to request the song every week until they told me they could no longer play it for me anymore.

The D.J. lived across the street from my house.