Nelson Mandela loved ‘Jolene’: Dolly Parton’s South African legacy
Following the death of country icon Dolly Parton, ‘SA People’ looks back at the global star’s profound and surprising South African legacy.
The global music community is mourning the legendary country singer Dolly Parton, who died at 80 on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, following a brief battle with cancer.
As her nephew Bryan Seaver announced her passing on Instagram, global tributes began pouring in, with US President Donald Trump ordering American flags to be flown at half-staff in her honour.
While her team confirmed that her life was defined by love, compassion, and resilience, South Africans will remember her unique, deep-rooted connections to the country, spanning from the prison cell of Nelson Mandela to legendary musical collaborations.
Dolly Parton’s South African legacy
While serving his 27-year sentence, late former president Nelson Mandela reportedly found comfort in Parton’s music.
Incarcerated on Robben Island under harsh conditions, Mandela was once permitted to play music over the prison loudspeakers. Fellow inmate Tokyo Sexwale revealed on the NPR podcast Dolly Parton’s America that Mandela chose her iconic hit song Jolene.
“He loved Jolene,” adding that “no human being cannot be affected by Jolene,” Sexwale said.
Beyond prison walls, Parton actively unified cultures. In 1996, she collaborated with South African choral legends Ladysmith Black Mambazo on a cover of Cat Stevens’ 1971 anthem Peace Train. Parton, who wanted a song reflecting world harmony, discovered the five-time Grammy-winning group on a LifeSavers television commercial.
Group founder Joseph Shabalala, who passsed away in 2020, led the vocal ensemble to New York for the historic recording session.
The collaboration delighted the singers. Group member Albert Mazibuko recalled that Parton’s music was incredibly popular with their wives back home.
Mazibuko, who died in April 2026, described the recording session as a “great experience”, laughing at how Parton temporarily disappeared from the studio and returned in completely different attire from head to toe, resembling a fashion show.
The artists reunited in 1997 to record Bob Dylan’s classic Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
‘Dumbstruck’ by South African drumming talents
South African rhythms also enchanted Parton at her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee. In April 2019, Cape Town’s interactive theatrical drumming sensation Drumstruck participated in the park’s Festival of Nations.
Performing three times daily for five weeks to standing ovations, the seven-member South African cast, including performer Mpho Rasenyalo, was joined on stage by Parton. She wore a djembe drum and enthusiastically played along.
Parton declared she was “dumbstruck by Drumstruck” and praised music as a unifying international language.
Beyond performance, her philanthropy touched the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, Parton donated $1 million (R18.2 million) to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This seed funding directly aided the development of the Moderna vaccine used around the world to combat the virus, demonstrating her global impact.
As South Africans join the world in bidding farewell to Dolly Parton, her legacy of kindness remains firmly etched in local hearts.
From Robben Island to the theatrical stage of Dollywood, she proved that her love for humanity truly knew no boundaries.