“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.” So reads the official statement from Dolly Parton regarding the death of her husband, Carl Dean, who died yesterday, aged 82.
Dean had been famously elusive across the star’s 50-year-plus career, eschewing the limelight and – it’s said – only ever seeing her perform once. However, despite the low profile, he’s perhaps secretly better known as the wayward, flighty figure that’s the subject of her biggest hit.
• In-depth: How Dolly Parton created a country classic later covered by The White Stripes, Beyoncé and more
In her breakout smash, Jolene, Parton begs a love rival not to take her easily distracted man “just because you can”.
Parton met her soon-to-be real-life partner upon her arrival in Nashville Tennessee to pursue her music career aged just 18. Dean, then 21, owned a Nashville road resurfacing company and after striking up a relationship with the fledgling star in the making – after commenting that she was going to get sunburn in the revealing attire she was wearing at the time – the pair were married two years later on 30 May 1966.
However, that Dean had been the inspiration for Jolene wasn’t known until the star let the cat out of the bag during her famous Legends appearance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in 2014 – a gig that put the Parton back on the global map – leading to her recent collab with Sabrina Carpenter on a remix of Please – and which elevated the festival’s Legend’s slot to much-loved Glastonbury must-see status.
"He's the only one for me, Jolene"
“Now, some of you may or may not know that this song was loosely based on a little bit of truth,” she told the audience on the day. “I wrote that years ago when my husband was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be."
Rising to the audience's reaction, Parton continued the story: “I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry. I want you folks to know, though, that something good can come from anything.
"Had it not been for that woman I would never have written ‘Jolene’, and I wouldn’t have made all that money, so thank you, Jolene.”
Parton also revealed the effect of the song on her long-running relationship with Dean during an appearance on the BBC’s The One Show.
“He was a little embarrassed when I wrote the song ‘Jolene’ because, actually, it wasn’t as serious as it seems,” she explained. “I was just jealous because she was a beautiful woman and he was just flirting.”
The song has since gone on to find more fame, including versions by Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé with the song – complete with a spoken intro by Dolly P herself – landing on her country-themed and Grammy-winning 2024 album, Cowboy Carter.
• Read more How Dolly Parton created a country classic later covered by The White Stripes, Beyoncé and more
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