: Dula was accused of stabbing Foster to death; the case became a national sensation, covered by major outlets like The New York Times .
Released in 1958, "Tom Dooley" became a "mammoth hit" that reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and sold over three million copies. The Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley - 1958
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. : Dula was accused of stabbing Foster to
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 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 .