Dolly Parton's life of many colours

WHAT'S UP! When we guys were growing up, it was mostly folks from the western region who listened to country music. I have no idea why. We guys were Motown kids, and were breastfed on soul music. But one day, we passed a place, and somebody was playing country music. I had not paid much attention until one phrase jumped out at me; the singer was going on about her 'coat of many colours'. I actually got goosebumps because, not too long before that, I had read in a Readers Digest an abridged story about a woman who grew up poor but was now a rich singer. She told about going to school with a coat made out of patches from other clothes, and how she called it the 'coat of many colours', although it must have looked like Kampala's potholed roads. Although it was a typical Readers Digest story of people being good, it was a good story, and it stayed with me. Now here I was, listening to someone sing it in very earnest tones. I left my Motown buddies and went looking for where the music was being played; I had to find out who the singer was. I found the person (yeah, he was from western Uganda), who told me the singer was a woman named Dolly Parton. He also added (no idea what it had to do with the singing), that she had a large chest. I eventually tracked down that Readers Digest , and yeah, the writer was indeed Dolly Parton. So, all the stuff she was singing about was actually true. Not only was it a good story, it was also a good song. A simple song, with just an acoustic guitar and little else. A mzungu kadongo kamu, if you want. That simpleness (it's called minimalism these days) appealed to me, and the earnest and almost open way she sang it. Of course, I didn't know it was deliberate, and by then I had not heard about the 'dumb blonde' persona. The earnestness and simpleness was her strength, and she kept it up pretty much throughout her career. And then she did those duets with Kenny Rogers! If anyone is still wondering what is meant by chemistry between two people, just watch those two sing together. In fact, there is a significant number of people in the world who are convinced the two had an affair, but just didn't admit to it. For the record, they admitted to flirting, but never took it further than that. It all started with the 1983 song, Islands in the Stream . As the story goes, it was originally written by the Bee Gees as an R&B song for Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross. But for some reason, the two didn't record it, so it was given to Kenny Rogers. He reportedly hated the way he sounded, and as Dolly Parton happened to be in the building, he suggested they do a duet. The rest, as they say, is history. The song made the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also topped the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. In 2005, it was voted the best country duet of all time by Country Music Television. Another duet, Real Love (1985), also topped the Country Music charts. They also had a Christmas album, Once Upon a Christmas (1984). But the most poignant is their 2013 song, You Can't Make Old Friends . A tribute to their 30 years of friendship, it was clear they were saying goodbye to each other. Written by Kenny Rogers, it was an admission that very soon one of them, or both, would not be there to sing with the other. 'How will I sing when you are gone?/ Cause it won't sound the same/Who will join in on those harmony parts/When I call your name?' It was the last duet they were to record. In 2015, Rogers announced he would retire from touring, and had his final concert in 2017, where the two sang together for the very last time. He died three years later, leaving Parton crestfallen. Six years after that, Dolly Parton has joined her old friend as they sang in the last verse. 'When Saint Peter opens the gate/And you come walking in/I will be there just waiting for you/'Cause you can't make old friends/You can't make old friends'. Tooro mourns Rest in peace Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. Just a short notice to commiserate with my Batooro friends on the very untimely death of their Omukama. It is difficult to reconcile the image I have of a three-year old boy playing with a balloon with a big crown on his head (which he tried moving time and again), and who wouldn't sit still as we tried to take his picture at his coronation, to the fact that he has died at the age of 34. Tooro etiirwe enkuba/Ekyoto kyeitu kizimire/Amata gatikire/ Engoma eyejumikire/Tooro tutiirwe omwiigo mali. Note: My good friend Irene Namara explained that Tooro etiirwe enkuba means 'Tooro has been struck by lightning', not rain. Follow Kalungi Kabuye on X @KalungiKabuye