The Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley - 1958 -

: 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 .

Watch this performance of Tom Dooley to see how the Kingston Trio's harmonies and stage presence helped spark the American folk revival: How Many People Pronounce The R In Arm In 1950 vs 2016 Brilliant Maps Facebook• Jan 7, 2026 The Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley - 1958

: Despite proclaiming his innocence, Dula was hanged in Statesville, N.C., on May 1, 1868. : Its success proved that traditional folk music

Released in 1958, "Tom Dooley" became a "mammoth hit" that reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and sold over three million copies. 1 on the Billboard charts and sold over three million copies

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 song's popularity occurred just as rock and roll was beginning to dominate, yet it successfully brought "folk back into the mainstream" and into the "DNA of rock and roll".