Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, who recently passed away, was the muse behind one of her greatest country songs.
The 79-year-old country legend lost her husband on March 3rd, whom she fell in love with back in the 1970s.
Dean, who was a bank teller inspired her song Jolene, in which she sings about begging another woman not to take her man away.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton told NPR in a 2008 interview.
“And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention,” the Islands in the Stream hitmaker recounted.
“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.”
Jolene ended up becoming Parton’s one of the greatest hit tracks after its release in 1973, and earned her the top place on Billboard’s country music chart.
This comes after Parton announced the news of her husband’s passing via Instagram. The 82-year-old died in Nashville, and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.
“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 wrote in her statement.
