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Tom Dooley was the alleged perpetrator of the murder of a young lady called Laura Foster in 1865. In keeping with the times not only was he sentenced to hang, but ballads were printed up which were written as if they were confessions from the gallows. This practice had been common in England since the 17th and 18th centuries and apparently crossed the Atlantic to the New World. In reality poor old Tom was convicted on what would be regarded as circumstantial evidence by today's standards. Indeed, 20th century re-investigations of the crime have pointed the finger of suspicion at Tom Dooley's jealous wife. The song "Tom Dooley" was a bit hit for The Kingston Trio in the 1950s. Considering they were singing about hanging and such, their version sounds a bit like they were all on Mogadon. Consequently our version goes a bit quicker and features a call and response vocal between Chris Joynes and Tony Black neither of whom are on tranquilisers of any kind. |