JOHANNESBURG—Dolly Parton was truly a global star, her reach extending from the hills of Appalachia to the savannas of Africa, where she was beloved across the continent—from Lagos to Nairobi to Johannesburg.
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At the news of her death this week, African country music stars and fans told NPR they could relate to Parton’s background and her ballads of rural hardship and struggle.
Esther Konkara, a singer known as “the Kenyan Dolly Parton,” said that growing up in a semi-arid, dusty Kenyan village, Dolly’s songs just spoke to her.
“I think by Dolly singing songs about growing up in rural areas back there in America, and a lot of us having grown up in rural areas and in poor backgrounds it resonates so well with us,” she explained.
“I think that’s why there is a lot of love for country music in Kenya,” the 39-year-old added.
So much so, in fact, that there’s now an annual Cowboys and Cowgirls Day festival where Kenyans — and fans from all over — don western garb and dance to country music.
Elijah Manyeki, who owns a niche but popular Nairobi store selling cowboy apparel, is the event’s main organizer.
“The whole of Africa, we are in shock, and we can’t believe Dolly she’s no more,” he told NPR, adding that he was holding a candlelight vigil and barbecue in Nairobi for Dolly fans to come together and remember her.
That connection isn’t unique to Kenya. In Nigeria, Ochiora Okogeri, known by his stage name The Country Man, is also feeling Dolly’s loss.
“Dolly sang about love, Dolly sang about heartbreak, she sang about simplicity and humble beginnings, you know, and these things are I think very relatable to most Africans, she was pretty down-to-earth in her songs.”
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Dressed in a Stetson and cowboy boots, he also covers Dolly songs, and says his audience has a clear favorite.
“There was so much soul and truth in her songs, particularly ‘Coat of Many Colors’ when I sing in Nigeria there is always a very open reception for it.”
Dolly’s appeal in Africa wasn’t limited to country music’s devoted fans. In South Africa, she counted some surprising admirers — including former President Nelson Mandela.
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The anti-apartheid icon was particularly fond of “Jolene” and, according to fellow inmates, would ask for it to be played over the loudspeakers at Robben Island.
Decades later, the song found a new South African interpretation when the Ndlovu Youth Choir recorded a version in 2020, adding lines in isiZulu.
Dolly herself was no stranger to South African music. She collaborated with one of the country’s great musical legends, the a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, on her album
“We first met Mama Dolly in 1995,” recalls the group’s leader Sibongiseni Shabalala. “It was a very, very happy session, she was a very lovely person, very easy to work with.”
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They also did a rendition of Bob Dylan’s song “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” together, and Ladysmith last saw her in 2018 when they performed at Dollywood.
Shabalala said her legacy will live on.
“We are very sad to hear of her passing, we hope everyone will be comforted by the work that she has done, supporting everyone, and sharing her music with everyone in the world — beautiful music.”
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