319 The Kingston Trio “Tom Dooley” 1958, Frank Proffitt (1913-1965) “Tom Dooley” 1940

The song is based on the 1867 murder trial of Tom Dula. “Frank Proffitt, of Pick Britches Valley, had his rendition collected by Frank Warner in 1938.” However, “The public erroneously connected ‘Tom Dooley’ with Thomas A. Dooley, the Navy doctor recently in the news for his missionary and medical roles in Vietnam and Laos…Thus accidentally the trio reaped the fruits of anticommunism while they drew inspiration and songs from the Weavers and Gateway Singers” (Ronald Cohen, Rainbow Quest). Both versions of the song are listed on the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

The Kingston Trio “Tom Dooley”

Frank Proffitt “Tom Dooley”