Dolly Parton: ‘The Star of My Life Story’

The famous country singer keeps the spirit of her late husband alive through music.

Dolly Parton speaks onstage at “Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs In Symphony World,” a multimedia, story-telling experience of her songs, her life, and her stories in Nashville, Tenn. on March 20, 2025. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton once wrote two of her most successful songs within a few days of each other. When she sat down to write “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” she had two different men on her mind. One was her husband, Carl Dean. The other was fellow country powerhouse Porter Wagoner.

“Jolene” was written about a bank teller who took a particularly keen interest in Parton’s husband. The song’s title was inspired by a young fan she later met, whose name was Jolene. The singer thought the name was perfect for the moody tune.

“I Will Always Love You” pays homage to Wagoner, who was Parton’s mentor until she made the tough decision to embark on a solo career.

She wrote both compositions in 1973, and the singles went on to become No. 1 hits.

RCA Victor's 1974 advertisement for Dolly Parton's single, "I Will Always Love You." (R) Album cover for Parton's 1974 album "Jolene" featuring her two No. 1 hits, "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You." Public Domain

More than 50 years after its initial release, “I Will Always Love You” has taken on a whole new meaning for Parton. Now, both songs offer snapshots into different moments of her longtime marriage to Dean.

When Dean passed away on March 3, 2025, Parton included the song title in one of her tributes to her late husband, honoring a marriage that always gave her a respite to return home to while navigating the twists and turns of her enduring career in country music.

Opposites Attract

In one of her official statements released after Dean’s passing, she called her late husband “the star” of her life’s story. Dean was notoriously private, rarely stepping into the spotlight alongside Parton. He was an obvious wallflower, especially in comparison to his wife’s extroverted personality, and he remained a steadfast, supportive, and encouraging partner throughout their entire life together.

In a 2024 interview with Knoxville News Sentinel, Parton said, “There’s always that safety, that security, that strength. … He’s a good man, and we’ve had a good life and he’s been a good husband.”

Parton and Dean’s marriage often provided the very things the country star missed while tackling one of the busiest schedules in country music. Whether returning home from a months-long tour or string of awards shows, the quiet, small-town Tennessee life the two built together provided comfort and mental relief.

There’s a common saying in the South, “The higher the hair, the closer to God,” and it’s often associated with Parton because she fits the image perfectly. While her stage presence has always been unapologetically over the top, she opts for a far more subdued, leisurely pace at home.

A detail from Dolly Parton's 1969 album "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy" featuring her reclusive husband, Carl Dean. Internet Archive. Public Domain

Just a few of the couple’s favorite activities over the years included picnics by the river and home-cooked meals full of comfort foods.

Parton once mentioned to entertainment publication Variety that oftentimes when she would go camping with her husband in their RV people near their campsite wouldn’t even recognize her due to her toned-down appearance.

A Rare Experience

(L) The house pictured on Dolly Parton’s 1973 album “My Tennessee Mountain Home” was the Parton family house from the late 1940s to early 1950s. (R) The cover art for Parton’s 1971 album “Coat Of Many Colors” was based on a childhood photograph of Parton at age 7 wearing her patchwork coat. Internet Archive. Public Domain

Parton spent her formative years living in a two-room cabin with her 11 siblings and parents. Their small cabin was tucked away in the Great Smoky Mountains, and Parton didn’t leave East Tennessee until she was 18 years old. On her first day in Nashville, she met her future husband while visiting a laundromat.

Two years later, they married in 1966 at a small, private ceremony at a church in Ringgold, Georgia.

Though Parton and Dean would go on to be highly protective of their marriage, keeping it separate from her public career, one journalist did manage to get a surprisingly intimate view of the couple while covering the singer for Country Music magazine. As writer Alanna Nash observed the couple while conducting an in-home interview in Nashville in 1977, she later wrote both a revealing and endearing analysis of Dean’s love for Parton.

“In a moment he stood in the living room, looking shy and uncomfortable in the presence of a stranger. Still, he was friendly and polite and after a little hesitation took my outstretched hand. Tall and thin … he was dressed in blue jeans, a flannel shirt, an old Army jacket, work boots, gloves and a blue wool cap. But he was still ruggedly handsome, and as he tore apart boxes to feed the fire, he turned and looked at his wife as if she were the only woman in the world.”

‘Perfectly Natural for Us’

During the interview with Nash, Parton said, “My career bein’ separate from my marriage is perfectly natural for us. We like it that way. It’s too right and too natural and too comfortable and too secure for it to ever be anything else.”

Days after Dean’s passing at the age of 82, Parton released a musical tribute alongside various official statements. Her original song “If You Hadn’t Been There” is an emotional, classic country ballad with lyrics that reflect on the importance of Dean’s support over decades of marriage. With Parton’s trademark breathy, warbling vocals, she sings, “I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there.” The breadth of emotions she feels regarding her husband is acutely present in what might be one of her most authentic vocal deliveries to date.

Along with the single, she took a moment to express her gratitude for the support she’s received since news of his passing made its way to the public. In a statement featured on her social media, she said that Dean “is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”

Offering reassurance to her loved ones and supporters, she said in another public statement after the release of the song tribute, “Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”

The couple were happily married just shy of 59 years.

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]