[citation needed], Dula was tried in Statesville because it was believed he could not get a fair trial in Wilkes County. It reached number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 and sold over six million copies. The story behind “Tom Dooley” – the 1866 murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dula in Elkville, North Carolina – is particularly ugly. For example: For Capitol Records 45 rpm Release #F4049 By The Kingston Trio[18], The third and final verse of Stonewall Jackson's crossover hit song Waterloo of 1958 referenced Tom Dooley with the lyrics "Now he swings where the little birdie sings, and that's where Tom Dooley met his Waterloo.". Thomas Anthony Dooley III (January 17, 1927 – January 18, 1961) was an American physician who worked in Southeast Asia at the outset of American involvement in the Vietnam War.While serving as a physician in the United States Navy and afterwards, he became known for his humanitarian and anti-communist political activities up until his early death from cancer. Melton was married, wealthy, beautiful, and insanely jealous. National publicity from newspapers such as The New York Times turned Dula's story into a folk legend. So Dula confessed to a murder he did not commit in order to save Melton's reputation. Anne Foster Melton, Laura's cousin, had been Dula's lover from the time he was twelve and until he left for the Civil War – even after Anne married an older man named James Melton. "Tom Dooley" is a North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina, allegedly by Tom Dula. Tom Dula was born to a poor Appalachian hill country family in Wilkes County, North Carolina, most likely the youngest of three brothers, with one younger sister, Eliza.The young Dula grew up, attended school, and "probably played with the female Fosters", Ann (later Melton) and her cousins Laura and Pauline. Some variant lyrics of the song portray Grayson in that light, and the spoken introduction to the Kingston Trio version[6] did the same. The Kingston Trio album was a nearly instant smash success, propelled by what would be their biggest hit—and one of the most popular songs of the late 1950s, the pretty but mournful ballad “Tom Dooley.” Shane explains, “Tom Dooley’s real name was Tom Dula. Framed Vintage Toleware Folk Art Painting Signed "Mash '86" 9" x 11" $14.42. ... Tom J Dooley Mountain Lake Landscape Framed Artist Proof 23 Signed Print. Hang down your head Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry Killed poor Laura Foster You know you’re bound to die. [7] Dula's enigmatic statement on the gallows that he had not harmed Foster but still deserved his punishment led to press speculation that Melton was the actual killer and that Dula simply covered for her. The verdict remains controversial to this date. Watch the video for Tom Dooley from The Kingston Trio's Greatest Hits for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. The Official Music Video for the classic folk song by The Kingston Trio. [2][3] In the documentary Appalachian Journey (1991), folklorist Alan Lomax describes Frank Proffitt as the "original source" for the song, which was misleading only in that he didn't write it. $16.96 + shipping It's said that Tom Dooley wrote this song himself. "Show 18 – Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. The Legend of Tom Dooley. The opening scene is set in 1958, the year the Kingston Trio version of the song debuted. Ann Foster's mother found Ann and Tom in bed together when Ann was only fourteen years old. That murder and the name Tom Dooley live on in one of the most famous folk songs ever to come out of North Carolina. $199.99 + shipping . In subsequent years, a folk song was written, and many oral … (Melton, who had once expressed jealousy of Dula's purported plans to marry Foster, died either in a carting accident or by going insane a few years after the homicide, depending on the version. Anne Melton went slowly insane from guilt, and years later as she was on her deathbed, the trees around her house filled with back cats and the air was filled with the smell of burning flesh as demons came to take her soul to Hell. Tom Dooley. I didn't harm a hair on the girl's head. Written late in the 19th century, this song is credited by many as the one that started the folk music boom of the late 1950s and early 60s. This version was a multi-format hit, which reached #1 in Billboard and the Billboard R&B listing, and appeared in the Cashbox Country … Tom Dooley, as recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1958, is often credited as being the song that kick-started the folk music revival of the 1950s and 60s. He was given a new trial on appeal but he was again convicted and hanged on May 1, 1868. Copyright © 2007-2020 North Carolina Ghosts. Recording Industry Association of America, List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1958 (U.S.), List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1950s. Tom was a Combat Artist in Vietnam and spent 18 months recording the war; in 1971, Tom came to Colorado permanently to paint nature, its beauty and serenity in hopes that future generations may enjoy Western life as Tom views it. As a youngster he fell in love with Ann Foster, but he had to leave his love behind when the Civil War broke out and Tom and his three brothers went off to fight Yankees. ... memorial page for Dr Thomas Anthony “Tom” Dooley III (17 Jan 1927–18 Jan 1961), Find a Grave Memorial no. The pronunciation of a final "a" like "y"[clarification needed] is an old feature in Appalachian speech, as in the term "Grand Ole Opry". It's this version of the tale, a complicated story story that ends in the death of an innocent man, that became immortalized in a folk song that circulated in North Carolina for nearly 100 years before it was made nationally famous by the Kingston Trio in 1958. Confederate veteran Tom Dula, Foster's lover and the father of her unborn child, was convicted of her murder and hanged May 1, 1868. About Tom Dooley. Many renditions of the song have been recorded, most notably: Other artists that have recorded versions of the song include Paul Clayton, Line Renaud, Bing Crosby, Jack Narz, and the Grateful Dead. Warner had learned the song from Proffitt, who learned it from his Aunt Nancy Prather, whose parents had known both Laura Foster and Tom Dula. 702 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mr. Shane, whose whiskey baritone was the group’s most identifiable voice on hits like “Tom Dooley” and “Scotch and Soda,” sang lead on more than 80 percent of the Kingston Trio’s songs. But the actual history behind the story of Tom Dula and the murder of Laura Foster are what might be generously described as slightly different from how he song tells it. 1 contributor. Learn the Scary Truth behind the legend of Tom Dooley. He was named COO in May 2010. "Tom Dooley" is the name of a season 5 episode of Ally McBeal, in which John Cage sings a version of the song with his Mexican band. "Tom Dooley" fits within the wider genre of Appalachian "sweetheart murder ballads". The legged has it that he that he was signing it, strumming along on his banjo, as he sat on top of his own coffin riding in the wagon on the way to his execution. The song was selected as one of the American Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[1]. Details about Tom J Dooley Mountain Landscape Framed Signed Original Oil Painting. Supported by the testimony of Anne and Frank Warner, Frank Proffitt was eventually acknowledged by the courts as the preserver of the original version of the song, and the Kingston Trio were ordered to pay royalties to him for their uncredited use of it. "What is the story behind the folk song 'Tom Dooley? The Kingston Trio hit inspired the film, The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959), starring Michael Landon, co-starring Richard Rust. A man named Tom Dula, pronounced "Dooley", was convicted and hanged for the crime. Tom Dooley. A current boyfriend of one of the Gabor sisters had just donated a new gravestone to Tom Dooley, so the original one, which was just a plain block of granite and had only the initials "TD" engraved on it, was given to us. Combined with the widespread publicity the trial received, Land's song further cemented Dula's place in North Carolina legend[2][3] is still sung today throughout North Carolina. Read Artist's Complete Bio. Three months before his eighteenth birthday, on … Dula realized that it was Anne Melton who had committed the crime. Although Laura was murdered in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Dula was tried, convicted, and hanged in Statesville. Considerable controversy surrounded the case. Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die. Crow T. Robot, motivated by one actor's resemblance to Thomas Dewey, sang a version beginning "Hang down your head, Tom Dewey. On the gallows, Dula reportedly stated, "Gentlemen, do you see this hand? [citation needed], A man named "Grayson", mentioned in the song as pivotal in Dula's downfall, has sometimes been characterized as a romantic rival of Dula's or a vengeful sheriff who captured him and presided over his hanging. On May 1, 1868, Tom Dula was executed for the murder of Laura Foster. Tom Dooley is in reality, Tom Dula, a feckless Confederate veteran who has an adulterous affair with his childhood sweetheart Ann Melton. Capo II [Refrain] D Hang down your head Tom Dooley, A7 Hang down your head and cry, Hang down your head Tom Dooley, D Poor boy, you're bound to die, [Verse] D I met her on the mountain, A7 and there I took her life, Met her on the mountain, D stabbed her with my knife, [Refrain] D Hang down your head Tom Dooley, A7 Hang down your head and cry, Hang down your head Tom Dooley, D Poor … 1 in Billboard and the Top 10 on the Billboard R&B listing, and appeared in the Cashbox Country Music Top 20. That murder and the name Tom Dooley live on in one of the most famous folk songs ever to come out of North Carolina. "[citation needed], Dula's last name was pronounced "Dooley," leading to some confusion in spelling over the years. "Tom Dooley" is a North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina, allegedly by Tom Dula. The song was parodied in episode No. Your edit did not contain any changes from the original. The song is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio, which reached No. "Ask the Marshall: What is the story behind the folk song 'Tom Dooley?