Is Jolene about Dolly Parton’s husband Carl Dean? Song origins explored as singer’s spouse dies at 82

Dolly Parton’s husband Carl Dean passed away at the age of 82 in Nashville on March 3, 2025. The singer announced the news in a statement on her Instagram account.

The statement 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 is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie.”

Parton indicated in her post that she spent 60 years together with her husband and wrote,

“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 asks for privacy during this difficult time.”

According to a report in the New York Times, her iconic song, Jolene was inspired by a bank teller who had a crush on Parton’s late husband. The song was reportedly released in October 1973 and became one of the greatest songs of all time. Let us discuss its origin in detail.

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How Dolly Parton’s hit song Jolene originated?

Dolly Parton’s road to success would have been incomplete without her husband, Carl Dean who recently passed away. Although he was a private person but served as a huge inspiration for her songs, one of which is the evergreen track, Jolene.

According to a report in People’s magazine, the You’re The Only One singer told NPR in a 2008 interview about a red-haired bank teller who had a “terrible crush” on her husband. She explained how she ultimately became an inspiration to write the song, Jolene.

“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.”

"She had everything I didn't, like legs — you know, she was about 6 feet tall. And had all that stuff that some little short, sawed-off honky like me don't have," Parton said.

Speaking to the outlet about the inspiration behind the name, Jolene she revealed how a “ beautiful little girl” who was probably 8 years old at that time became her inspiration.

"And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph," Parton said.

“I said, 'Well, you're the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?' And she said, 'Jolene.' And I said, 'That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that.'”

She thanked the woman because it was because of her she got the idea to channel her emotions in the right direction. In a 2014 interview with The Independent, she said:

“I want you folks to know, though, that something good can come from anything,' Parton said. '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.”

Just Because I’m a Woman, From Here to the Moon and Back, Pure & Simple are several other songs that were inspired by her husband Carl Dean, according to the New York Times. The couple reportedly met in 1964 outside the WishyWashy Laundromat in Nashville. They tied the knot in 1966 in Ringgold, Georgia. They never had any kids.