'Dooley' The Darlings Perform On The Andy Griffith Show - Inspirational Videos

The Darlings perform their hit ‘Dooley’ on The Andy Griffith Show, and this one will take you all the way back to Mayberry!

One of the most beloved comedy series of all time is The Andy Griffith Show. It ran for eight seasons starting in 1960. The show depicted the mostly serene goings-on in the fictional small town of Mayberry and in the lives of its sheriff, Andy Taylor, his son, their aunt, and the sheriff’s bumbling deputy, Barney Fife. Yet, it was episode eighty-eight that made a musical hit when The Darlings performed the song “Dooley.”

However, the band known on the show as The Darlings were actually The Dillards, an already established bluegrass band formed by Douglas Dillard, Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb, and Mitchell Franklin.

In this episode, the sheriff visits the Darling family in their home. Briscoe Darling, played by Denver Pyle, asks the sheriff if he brought his guitar. Of course, the sheriff didn’t think there was time to play music but Briscoe thought otherwise when he said, “Well, you got time to breathe, you got time for music,” before handing him a guitar.

Briscoe counts down and leads the impromptu music session with his whiskey jug and as his son begins to sing.

Dooley was a good ole man, he lived below the mill
Dooley had two daughters, and a forty-gallon still

The Darlings added additional depth and character to the show as they were known to live in a mountain shack somewhere in the mountains neighboring Mayberry. They were a good-natured but trouble-making clan, and they only came into town to bug the sheriff when they had a problem they couldn’t resolve. However, the family formed a really talented bluegrass band. Briscoe was the widowed father of five grown children (four sons and one daughter) who all lived together, and each had a different musical talent.

Watch the impromptu music jam session for yourself and share with a friend who needs a lift!

Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre. Psalm 81:2