<P> `` 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 is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio . This version was a multi-format hit , which reached # 1 in Billboard and the Billboard R&B listing , and appeared in the Cashbox Country Music Top 20 . It fits within the wider genre of Appalachian `` sweetheart murder ballads '' . </P>
<P> `` 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 is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio . This version was a multi-format hit , which reached # 1 in Billboard and the Billboard R&B listing , and appeared in the Cashbox Country Music Top 20 . It fits within the wider genre of Appalachian `` sweetheart murder ballads '' . </P>
who sang hang down your head tom dooley
who sang hang down your head tom dooley
best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio
best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio