From Appalachia to Africa: Why Dolly Parton was beloved across the continent

Nigerian country singer Ochiora Okogeri, popularly known as The Country Man, performs Dolly Parton songs during International Cowboy Day celebrations in Nairobi in July 2026. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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.

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.

Dolly Parton performing in Nashville, Tennessee in 2014. Terry Wyatt/Getty Images hide caption