On May 30, 1966, country icon Dolly Parton married Nashville businessman Carl Dean. The two remained married until his death in March 2025 at age 82, nearly 60 years. Today marks their wedding anniversary, and to celebrate their long-lasting love, here are Parton’s best quotes about their relationship.
Videos by American Songwriter
On Their First Meeting in Nashville
Dolly Parton moved to Nashville in 1964 to start her country music career. That year, she and Carl Dean met by random happenstance outside of a laundromat.
“There was a laundromat down from my little apartment where I was gonna be staying,” Parton said in 2019. “So, the very day I go down to the laundromat, this good-looking man just drives by and he says something like, ‘Well, you’re gonna get sunburned out here.’ And I said something stupid like, ‘Well, what’s it to you?’ We start talking and, two years later, we married and we’re still married, and that was that.”
When the two renewed their vows in 2016, marking their 50th wedding anniversary, Dean made a rare statement. He shared his first thoughts upon meeting Parton.
“My first thought was, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,’” he said to Entertainment Tonight. “My second thought was, ‘Lord, she’s good lookin’. And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last fifty years for nothing on this earth.”
How Dolly Parton and Carl Dean Stayed Married for So Long
In 2020, Dolly Parton shared some insight into the secrets of a long-lasting marriage. Speaking with People, she said that the key was appreciating the little things.
“We still have our little times, like in the springtime when the first yellow daffodils come out,” she said. “Even if there’s still some snow around it, my husband always brings me a bouquet. And he’ll usually write me a little poem. Which to me, that’s priceless. That’s like a date in itself.”
She also added that she likes to “cook the stuff that I know we love, and I pack it up in a picnic basket, and then we’ll go find some riverbank somewhere with our little camper, park, have a picnic.”
On How He Inspired Her Rock Album
In 2023, Dolly Parton released the album Rockstar, which featured covers and original songs in a rock and roll style. Prior to the release, Parton explained that her husband inspired her to make a rock album.
“From the time I met him in 1964, he just had rock ‘n’ roll blasting. That’s his music. The louder, the better,” she said. “I grew up with him, you know, through the years with him of just hearing all that great music.”
She continued, “Of course I knew about rock before, in my early days—Elvis and Jerry Lee and all of them—but it was Carl that really made me make that final decision to think, ‘You know what? I’ve got this great opportunity to do this, and I’m just gonna do it.’”
According to Parton, most of the covers she chose for the album were songs she knew her husband liked. “Most of these songs I chose because of Carl, and because I knew they were good songs, ’cause he knows good music,” she said.
Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.