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NBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
The origin story for ‘Jolene'? Dolly Parton's husband and another woman's ‘terrible crush'
One of Dolly Parton's biggest hits was inspired, in part, by her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean. The country music icon said her 1973 smash hit 'Jolene,' which went to the top of Billboard's country music chart, came about thanks to a bank teller who had a little thing for Dean. 'She got this terrible crush on my husband,' Parton told NPR in 2008. 'And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kind of like a running joke between us when I was saying, 'Hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money.' So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.' Parton, who also said she came up with the name of the song after meeting a young fan at a concert, announced on Instagram on March 3 that Dean had died at the age of 82. The couple were married for nearly 60 years. 'Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,' the 10-time Grammy winner wrote, while adding her husband died in Nashville and 'will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.' Dean, who worked in the asphalt industry, met Parton at a laundromat in 1964. They married two years later in Georgia when they were both in their early 20s. While Parton has enjoyed immense fame throughout her career, Dean was not often seen, remaining out of the public eye. 'He went to one thing with me early on, when we first married, to a BMI Song of the Year,' she said on Apple's 'What Would Dolly Do? Radio' in 2023. 'And he came out there, taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that, and said, 'Don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things, because I ain't going.' So I never asked him, and he never did.' The couple never had children, and Parton has spoken about how much Dean meant to her in her life. 'I think I've had many loves, but Carl is my best and lasting,' she told Woman's World in an interview in January. 'He was the one that's lasted for 60 years.'
Miami Herald
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Dolly Parton speaks out after her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, dies at 82
Dolly Parton took to social media on March 3 to make a heartbreaking announcement. In her statement, Parton announced that her ultra-private husband, Carl Thomas Dean, had died. 'Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie,' the post read. 'Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,' Parton said in the post. 'The family asks for privacy during this difficult time.' Dean and Parton had been married since 1966. In a 2011 interview, Parton said she and Dean were 'really very proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last.' In a separate interview with ET Canada, Parton said the secrets to their decades-long marriage were distance, a sense of humor, never crossing the line, and having different interests. 'I like it when people say, 'How did it last so long?' I say, 'It's [still] going.' You know, there's a lot to be said about that.' 'So, we're not in each other's face all the time,' she continued. 'He's not in the business, so we have different interests, but yet we have the things we love to do together.' Dean and Parton met in 1964 after she moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Parton had walked into the laundromat Dean was at with a pile of dirty clothes. Two years later, they became husband and wife. While a guest on the 'Dumb Blonde' podcast in December 2024, Parton shared that Dean attended one of her first award shows in 1967, where she won BMI Song of the Year. Dean was the first to admit, it wasn't his scene. 'I wish you the best, but don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain't going,' Parton recalled him saying. 'He loves music, but he's not the least bit interested in being in it.'
Buzz Feed
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
'Words Can't Do Justice To The Love We Shared': Dolly Parton's Husband, Carl Thomas Dean, Has Died At Age 82 After Almost 60 Years Of Marriage
Dolly Parton has announced that her husband of almost 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, has died at age 82. The two first met outside a laundromat in Nashville, TN, in 1964, when Dolly was 18 years old and Carl was 21. They married two years later, in 1966. A brief statement that was posted to Dolly's social media pages on Monday read: 'Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.' Quoting Dolly, the post adds: 'Carl and I spent many wonderful years together, words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.' 'The family has asked for privacy during this difficult time,' the statement concludes. Dolly's glittering career first took off in 1967 — a year after she met Carl — when she became a regular on The Porter Wagoner Show. She, of course, went on to achieve global fame, but despite being by Dolly's side since the very beginning, Carl has always avoided the spotlight. Richard E. Aaron / Redferns Dolly reflected on this during a 2024 appearance on the Dumb Blonde podcast, where she said: 'He loves music, but he's not the least bit interested in being in it.' Dolly also recalled the one time she convinced him to attend an awards show with her back in 1967, where she won BMI Song of the Year. Carl apparently told her afterward: 'I wish you the best, but don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain't going.' In a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight, Dolly said that her husband has only seen her perform live once, and quoted him as telling her: 'I didn't choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.' Still, Dolly has always been open when it comes to publicly discussing their relationship, and in Dolly Parton: In Her Own Words, she opened up about her and Carl's wholesome meet-cute, sharing: 'I walked outside, there was this good-looking man that drove by the Wishy-Washy laundromat. And he pulled over to the side. So we started talking and we married two years later.' And, famously, Carl has been the inspiration behind some of Dolly's most popular songs, including her 1973 hit 'Jolene.' Speaking to NPR in 2008, Dolly said of the woman name-checked in the track: 'She got this terrible crush on my husband, and he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention.' Danny Martindale / WireImage Later, while performing at Glastonbury festival, Dolly told the crowd: 'I wrote that years ago when my husband was spending a little more time with 'Jolene' than I thought he should be. I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry.' Meanwhile, Dolly said during a 2023 appearance on BBC Radio 2 that her and Carl's relationship has lasted because of 'love and respect,' going on to add: 'You know, I would have liked him if he wasn't my husband. If he was somebody else's husband, I'd say, 'You know that Carl Dean, ain't he funny? Ain't he a good guy?'' Jason Kempin / Getty Images And in a 2011 interview with the Toronto Sun, she said: 'We're really very proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last.'
NBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Dolly Parton's husband of nearly 6 decades dies
Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Thomas Dean, whom she was married to for nearly 60 years, has died, she said. He was 82. The music icon, 79, on Monday posted a statement confirming Dean's death on Instagram. 'Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie," the statement said. 'Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.' The star asked for privacy for the family as they grieve Dean's death. Parton and Dean, a businessman from Nashville, married in 1966 after meeting two years prior and mostly kept their relationship out of the public eye. In a November 2023 interview for her Apple Music show, 'What Would Dolly Do? Radio,' Parton opened up about why they kept their relationship so private. 'Carl has never been in the limelight and all, never wanted to be in it. He don't like it,' Parton explained at the time. 'He went to one thing with me early on when we first married to a BMI Song of the Year (event), and he came out there taking off his tuxedo, his tie and all that and said, 'Don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things because I ain't going.'' She added, 'I never asked him and he never did.' Parton famously penned one of her biggest songs, 'Jolene,' which was released in 1973, about a woman flirting with her husband. Speaking about the inspiration behind the song in an interview with NPR in 2008, she said, 'She got this terrible crush on my husband. And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, 'Hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money.' So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.' In May 2016, the longtime couple decided to renew their vows. She told Rolling Stone that they had an intimate ceremony at their Nashville-area home. 'I got all dressed up in the most beautiful gown you've ever seen and dressed that husband of mine up. He looked like a handsome dude out of Hollywood,' she gushed. 'We had a few family and friends around. We didn't plan anything big at all because we didn't want any kind of strain, any kind of tension, any kind of commotion, so we planned it cleverly and carefully. We just had a simple little ceremony at our chapel at our place. We just had just a few people who needed to be there to make sure they got the pictures and the few things that we needed.'
