By Paul Lucky Okoku
Some deaths make you stop whatever you are doing. Tuesday was one of those days for me.
Dolly Parton, the country music legend whose voice has been part of my life since I was a boy in Nigeria, has died at the age of 80. Her death was announced by her family on August 25, 2026. As of this writing, no official cause of death has been disclosed.
Wow. Dolly Parton.
For me, this is not simply the death of another famous American entertainer. Her music takes me backward—to childhood, to Nigeria, and even to some unforgettable days representing my country in football.
THE COAT I NEVER FORGOT
One of those songs was “Coat of Many Colors.” Dolly recorded it in 1971, telling the story of the coat her mother made for her from pieces of fabric when the family had very little.
That song stayed with me. We played Dolly Parton’s music back home, including around Christmas time, and somehow those songs became attached to memories of childhood, family and growing up.
That is the extraordinary thing about music. Tennessee may have been thousands of miles from Nigeria, but Dolly Parton’s voice needed no passport to reach us.
THEN CAME DOLLY AND KENNY — AND MY GREEN EAGLES DAYS
Then came Kenny Rogers’ Eyes That See in the Dark album in 1983. I loved that album, but there was one track in particular that became something even more personal to me: “Islands in the Stream.”
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton released the duet on August 15, 1983. Written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, it became a No. 1 hit in America.
I loved the album, but I loved that duet even more. “Islands in the Stream” became almost a signature song for me during my days with the Nigeria national team. I knew it from beginning to end.
Hearing about Dolly’s death immediately carried me back to 1983 and 1984—to those journeys with the Green Eagles, traveling from Ibadan to Lagos, catching flights and preparing to represent Nigeria.
By March 1984, we were at the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, eventually reaching the final against Cameroon.
My roommate at the time was the late Taiwo Ogunjobi, who was my senior. I played “Islands in the Stream” so often that I am sure he probably grew to like it too. At least, he never complained, no matter how many times I replayed that particular track.
That is one of the things this news has brought back to me so vividly. Football memories are not only about matches, goals and stadiums. Sometimes they are about the people you shared rooms and journeys with, the music playing in the background, and the songs that quietly became part of the soundtrack to a young man’s dreams.
For me, “Islands in the Stream” is part of that soundtrack.
Football memories are not only about matches, goals and stadiums. Sometimes they are about the music you listened to while traveling, the songs you sang with teammates or quietly to yourself, and the soundtrack accompanying a young man’s dreams.
For me, “Islands in the Stream” is part of that soundtrack. The album was memorable, but that particular song became attached to a special period of my life.
Kenny Rogers died in 2020. Now Dolly is gone too. There is something deeply emotional about that. Somewhere in the imagination of an old fan, I can almost picture Kenny waiting for Dolly so that the duet can begin again.
FROM TENNESSEE TO THE WORLD
Dolly belonged to America, but the affection for her never stopped at America’s borders. We loved her in Nigeria. We loved her across Africa. Millions loved her around the world.
She rose from poverty in rural Tennessee to become a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist whose influence crossed generations and continents.
Just days before her death, she was still speaking about how much more she hoped to accomplish. Perhaps that makes the news even harder to absorb.
Eighty years of life. More than six decades of music. And still, she believed there was more to do.
For those of us who grew up with that unmistakable voice, Dolly Parton already gave us something that survives death. She gave us songs that became memories.
For me, some of those memories belong not only to my childhood in Nigeria, but also to the privilege of wearing Nigeria’s national colors. And some memories never grow old.
Rest in peace, Dolly Parton.
Thank you for the music. And thank you for traveling with me—from my childhood in Nigeria all the way to my Super (Green) Eagles days.
