Carl Dean Biography
Carl Dean was a retired asphalt paver and the husband of country singer Dolly Parton. He was the son of Virginia Bates Dean and Edgar Henry Dean born on July 20, 1942 , in Georgia. He grew up in East Ridge, Tenn. alongside his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
Despite his wife’s popularity he kept a low profile. During an interview in 2020, Dolly said he never wanted to be in the spotlight and some people told her they don’t actually believe he’s real.
“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all it’s just not who he is. He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.
I’ve always respected and appreciated that in him and I’ve always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can. He said, ‘I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.’ And we do and we have. We’ve been together 56 years, married 54.”
Carl Dean and Dolly Parton
Carl and Dolly got married on May 30, 1966 , two years after meeting outside the WishyWashy Laundromat on Dolly’s first day in Nashvile. “I was walking down the street to the laundromat and he stopped me. He said, ‘Hey, you’re going to get sunburned out here!’”
After they got married Dolly didn’t change her name as she was already had a record deal and it made no sense and Dean also never asked her to. She however signs a lot of her contracts Dean and her passport is Dolly Parton Dean.
The couple never had children but they wanted the kids when they first got married;
“My husband and I, when we first got married, we thought about if we had kids, what would they look like? Would they be tall – because he’s tall? Or would they be little squats like me? If we’d had a girl, she was gonna be called Carla… Anyway, we talked about it, and we dreamed it, but it wasn’t meant to be. Now that we’re older? We’re glad.
I would have been a great mother, I think. I would probably have given up everything else. Because I would’ve felt guilty about that, if I’d have left them [to work, to tour]. Everything would have changed. I probably wouldn’t have been a star.”
Carl inspired Some of Dolly Parton’s Songs
Their love inspired her song, ” “From Here to the Moon and Back.”
“From here to the moon and back
Who else in this world will love you like that?
Love everlasting, I promise you that
From here to the moon and back.”
Her hit song ‘Jolene’ was inspired by a bank teller who had a crush on Carl.
“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 — 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 wrote her song “Just Because I’m a Woman” after Dean asked her about her past and wasn’t pleased. The song describes the disappointment of a man who had married someone he believed to be “an angel” but had learned she was more complex.
During a podcast interview in 2023 she said eight months into their marriage, he “started asking me questions about my past, and I said, ‘Now, I don’t want to lie to you because I’m a pretty open, honest person, so don’t ask me nothing you don’t want the truth about.’ Anyway, I told the truth and he wasn’t too happy about that and then I wrote that song.”
She also revealed thst her 2023 album “Rockstar” was influenced by Dean’s love of rock music. “From the time I met him in 1964 — he just had rock ‘n’ roll blasting. That’s his music.”
Carl Dean Death
Carl died on March 3, 2025. His death was anounced by Dolly via her social media. His cause of death was however not made public.
