Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's husband for nearly 60 years and the man whose flirting inspired her classic hit "Jolene," has died. He was 82.
Parton announced the news today in an Instagram post. "Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82," it began, moving into a quote from Parton. "'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 respected Dean's strong preference for privacy throughout their long marriage, and continues the gesture in death, asking for "privacy during this difficult time."
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Dean was born in Nashville, Tenn. in 1942 to Virginia Bates Dean and Edgar Henry Dean.
Parton met Dean the first day she moved to Nashville to pursue music in 1964. The pair encountered one another outside the city's Wishy Washy Laundromat. Two years later, they were married. Parton recounted the couple's meeting on her website in commemoration of their 50th anniversary in 2016: "I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me). He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about."
In a rare interview given to Entertainment Tonight in 2016, Dean shared his own memory of their meeting. "My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl. My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin.' And that was the day my life began. I wouldn't trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth."
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean.
Courtesy of Dolly Parton
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The 9 to 5 star explained in 2012 that only Parton's mother, the pastor, and his wife in attendance at the ceremony, which they had to keep private, because Parton's label at the time was adamant that their rising star remain unmarried for promotional purposes.
"When my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids. We weren't doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did," Parton told Billboard in 2014. "But it didn't turn out that way." The pair did not have children, and remained married until Dean's death.
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Parton worked to keep Dean out of the public eye as her star continued to rise throughout their marriage, but she commented on him frequently during interviews, even explaining that he inspired her signature song, "Jolene." The woman behind the enchanting seductress at the center of the song was a bank teller who was, according to Parton, overly-familiar with her husband. "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," Parton told NPR in 2008. "So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one."
"They say that opposites attract, and it's true," she told PEOPLE in 2015. “We're completely opposite, but that's what makes it fun. I never know what he's gonna say or do. He's always surprising me."
Dean is survived by Parton and his siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
