song Tom Dooley

Subject: song Tom Dooley
From:
Date: 11 Jun 99 - 10:22 AM

Need to know how old is the song Tom Dooley, any specific song writer? How many versions exist? Any person ALIVE NOW to claim songwriting credits? The incident the song is based on happened 130 years ago, right?

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Ian
Date: 11 Jun 99 - 11:05 AM

Apparently "traditional", written soon after the event (there is some suggestion that he wrote it himself as he was supposed to be a notable musician). There's some information on the net, but you might be interested in this site.

http://www.findagrave.com/cemeteries/nctomdooley.html

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: MMario
Date: 11 Jun 99 - 11:48 AM

If the info on this page parody is to be believed, several people are contesting copyright for Tom Dooley, regardless of the origin.

MMario

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 11 Jun 99 - 03:39 PM

Gail,

Welcome to the Mudcat. You will find people here with interests similar to yours. This topic has been discussed several times in several ways here on the Mudcat Forum. I will send you back to three threads I discovered by doing a Forum Search with the Subject "Dooley".

LINK ONE

LINK TWO

LINK THREE

If you still have questions, come on back and post again on this thread.

Again, welcome to the Mudcat. Browse around a bit. You will fink fonts of musical knowledge and pits of dark humor and much in between.

Enjoy the song!

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Gail
Date: 12 Jun 99 - 10:27 AM

To Roger in Baltimore. Hey, Thanks for the welcome! This is the first site where I've gotten answers to my questions! I work for a place that features Bluegrass and old time music on weekends. My boss has just hired a guy who says he is one of the founding members of the NEW chrisite Minstrels and HE WROTE THE SONG "TOM DOOLEY"! Well, I thought I was faminliar with both (Christie Minstrel and the song Tom dooley ) until confronted with THIS. I have been blundering around the internet for at least two weeks until I hit upon this site. Great! I'm getting some answers! I like this!

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Phil Shapiro
Date: 12 Jun 99 - 12:02 PM

In some versions of the song, his name is Tom Dula. Check out Doc Watson, I think.

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From:
Date: 14 Jun 99 - 07:56 AM

Was the song ever associated with the New Chrisie Minstrels -- a guy name Larry (not the one discussed above?) who was in the N C M ?

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Ian
Date: 15 Jun 99 - 08:02 AM

Whoever is claiming copyright, it looks as though the song is originally traditional. This is a good site for both the story and an older version of the song.

http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/3448/tom.html

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: gail
Date: 16 Jun 99 - 09:39 PM

Thanks for all the help! I should have known to ask about the Earliest Known Recording of "Tom Dooley"!

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Ian
Date: 17 Jun 99 - 06:23 AM

Gail

For some reason, the DEADLIST project (to do with songs recorded by "The Grateful Dead") is a really good site for this information. The entry for "Tom Dooley" is here and has the information you want.

TOM DOOLEY

By the way, the Grayson in the 1922(?) recording was related to Sheriff Grayson.

Cheers!! Ian

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Ian
Date: 17 Jun 99 - 06:29 AM

Sorry - here

TOM DOOLEY

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Easy Rider
Date: 17 Jun 99 - 10:48 AM

I have found an original VHS video of Frank Proffit singing this song, which he made famous. It is on program #26 of Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Quest", which is available from Norman Ross Publishing, in NYC.

Rainbow Quest

Here is the description:

"26.Frank Warner: Seeger and his guest Frank Warner sing songs of the Adirondack Mountains and reminisce about Yankee John and frank Proffit. Proffit is seen in a film as he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. Included in the show are Frank Proffit's most famous song, "Tom Dooley," as well as "Little Men," "Little Phoebe" and "Hudson River Steamboat.""

I would LOVE to see this video. I live in NYC and can buy it, over the counter, directly from the publisher, paying sales tax ($2.06) but saving the $5 shipping and handling cost. I'm planning to buy a couple of the other programs anyway, so, if anyone wants to pay for this one, or ANY OTHERS, I can buy them all together and mail them to you. just send me email. I'm a registered member of Mudcat.

excitement, excitement!

EZR

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Jeri
Date: 17 Jun 99 - 11:58 AM

There is a post by Frank Hamilton in rec.music.folk here. Frank's e-mail address is there, and he's very nice to talk to internet-wise. I don't know if he's aware of the 1922 recording.

The current belief is that Frank Proffit wrote the song. (All traditional songs were written by somebody, we just don't know who.) I have a friend who may have more information. If he shows up at the session tomorrow night, I'll ask him.

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 17 Jun 99 - 12:17 PM

I have heard Frank Proffit sing Tom Dooley --many years ago, of course-- and I seem to recall that he said he learned it from someone as an "ballet." I do recall that the song is an occasional ballad treating the murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dula in, I believe, the 1860's. The belief that Proffit wrote the song is news to me, as I seem to remember that the song was considered very old in my part of the mountains back in the '40's.

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Jeri
Date: 17 Jun 99 - 01:00 PM

Bill, there's a good (probablility 100%) chance I misunderstood what someone had said and don't know what the heck I'm talking about. I apologize. I did some more newsgroup reading, and found the following very informative article.

Click Here

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Cloe
Date: 19 Jun 99 - 08:43 PM

I have a bit of an odd question...I was wondering if anyone else calls their thanksgiving turkey "Tom Dooley." Apparently the reason we do in my family is because my great grandmother used to sing that song while making it...in any event, I wondered if maybe the idea was naitonal, or just family oriented. Thank you, Cloe

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 20 Jun 99 - 01:42 AM

Cloe: What a remarkable family tradition! Where did your great-grandmother live? Could she have been toying with the thought that Tom carved up Laura, lo, those many years ago? Can you remember the text and tune you heard to the song? Any other musical traditions in your family? What other songs did you sing? Where did you grow up and where are you now? Etc., etc.

Sandy

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 02 Nov 02 - 10:01 AM

According to the info on the CD "Roots of Lonnie Donegan" the 1929 version is the earliest recorded (it is on that CD) and the Grayson who sings it is a descendant of Sheriff Grayson.
RtS

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 02 Nov 02 - 11:34 PM

I've got an early version of Tom Dooley in my grandfather's manuscripts but it's incomplete. I believe was collected from Frank Profitt, in NC no date given. It was in his Beech Mountain, NC collection.

My grandfather showed Warner one of Proffitt's handmade dulcimer's in New York and told him about Proffitt. Warner then visited Proffitt and the rest as they say, "is history."

-Richie

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: 53
Date: 03 Nov 02 - 10:49 AM

Kingston Trio is the only version that I've heard.

Subject: RE: song Tom Dooley
From: Sooz
Date: 03 Nov 02 - 11:55 AM

If anybody is interested - its the first song I can remember learning!
I was about three, and sang it every morning as soon as I woke up! The audience reaction was negative to say the least. I think it must have been the Kingston Trio version I'd heard. I moved rapidly on to Guy Mitchell's "She wears red feathers". I wish I could learn new songs as quickly.