The Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley - 1958 — Ultimate & Reliable

The song is based on the 1866 murder of in Wilkes County, North Carolina. The man convicted of the crime was Tom Dula (pronounced "Dooley" in the local dialect), a Confederate veteran and farmhand.

The 1958 release of "Tom Dooley" by The Kingston Trio was a pivotal moment in American music history, effectively launching the of the late 1950s and early 1960s. While the song is a catchy, banjo-driven hit, it is rooted in a dark, real-life murder that took place nearly a century earlier in North Carolina. The Real Story Behind the Ballad The Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley - 1958

: The Kingston Trio (Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds) were fresh out of college and stayed clear of radical politics. Bob Dylan later noted in his autobiography, Chronicles , that while their style was "polished and collegiate," he still "liked most of their stuff". The song is based on the 1866 murder

: Its success proved that traditional folk music had massive commercial potential, paving the way for later artists like Bob Dylan , Joan Baez , and Peter, Paul and Mary . While the song is a catchy, banjo-driven hit,