Redhead Dolly Parton

Redhead Dolly Parton

By
Emma Nolan

On 7/21/21 at 8:02 AM EDT

The Jury Was Right Not to Give the Parkland Killer the Death Penalty

By
Angela McArdle

Donald Trump's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

By
Randy Jones

America's Silent Majority Is Alive and Well—and Moderate

By
Anthony Fowler

Latest Sanctions Are Not Enough to Show U.S. Support of Iranian Protesters

By
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Should MAGA Republicans Be Silenced? No, Keep Them Talking | Opinion

By
Liam Barrett

Gun Violence, Community Violence Intervention, and Policing | Opinion

By
Charlie Beck and Chico Tillmon

Does a Third Term for China's Xi Jinping Mean Danger for Taiwan?

Parkland Sentence is a Travesty for Victims' Families

By
Nicole Russell

Mexican Military Hack Deepens Suspicions of Cartel Collusion in Politics

By
Melissa Ford

Canceling the Cancelers at Yale Law School

By
Josh Hammer

Innovative Steps to Reclaim a Human Way of Life for the Next Generation

By
Noelle Mering

Bigotry has become a political football. When will the partisanship end?

By
Jeff Charles

Newsweek magazine delivered to your door Unlimited access to Newsweek.com Ad free Newsweek.com experience iOS and Android app access All newsletters + podcasts
Unlimited access to Newsweek.com Ad free Newsweek.com experience iOS and Android app access All newsletters + podcasts
Dolly Parton has delighted fans once again with her latest social media post.
The beloved singer has recreated her iconic 1978 Playboy cover in a video that has been viewed more than eight million times across Twitter , Instagram and Facebook .
The legendary country musician donned the signature Playboy ears and a leotard to surprise her husband Carl Dean on his birthday.
"You're probably wondering why I'm dressed like this," she said while wearing the famous strapless bodysuit and bunny ears. "Well, it's for my husband's birthday. Remember some time back I said I was gonna pose on Playboy magazine when I'm 75? Well, I'm 75 and they don't have a magazine anymore, but my husband always loved the original cover of Playboy ."
Parton explained that she organized a new shoot for Dean because he love her original Playboy cover so much.
"I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy. He still thinks I'm a hot chick after 57 years and I'm not gonna try to talk him out of that," Parton said.
"In the first one, I was kind of a butter-ball," she joked. "Well I'm string cheese now! But he'll probably think I'm cream cheese, I hope."
Parton and Dean have been married since 1966 and despite his wife's worldwide fame, has remained extremely private.
However, Parton's post gave fans a rare glimpse of Dean—well, the back of his head.
Speaking about her marriage in 2016, Parton told Vogue about how she has always strived to protect her husband's privacy.
"My husband is not one who wants to be just thrown out there," the singer said. "He's very private, and I've always respected that for him and about him. And so, we just try to live our lives.
"Everybody is not entitled to every single thing you do and thought you think, although I do share as much of my life as I possibly can. I'm not holding back any information, but there are just some things that are sacred and private."
Dean has spoken about his love for Parton before.
Speaking on their 50th wedding anniversary, Dean said in a press release: "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."
Parton once revealed that she wrote her iconic hit "Jolene" about her husband after seeing him speak to a red-haired bank clerk.
"I wrote that [song] years ago when my husband... was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be," she said at Glastonbury Festival in 2014.
"I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry... 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."
Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters

By Maria Carter Updated: Nov 11, 2019
This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Dolly Parton - the story behind Jolene (NRK Lydverket)
This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
It's hard to imagine any woman posing a threat to Dolly Parton —even a fiery redhead with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green. But that's the story behind Dolly’s 1973 hit, " Jolene ,” in which one woman begs another not to take her man. It's also a universally popular tune with at least 30 well-known covers, the basis for a Netflix series , and Rolling Stone even named it one of the 500 greatest songs of all time .
But what's the story behind Dolly’s words? And is there any truth to the legendary song?
In the song, an anxious narrator implores another woman not to steal her love away ("I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man"). She calls her rival beautiful "beyond compare," and explains that she believes her partner is enamored with the woman—he even talks about her in his sleep. The last verse of the song pleads: "My happiness depends on you / And whatever you decide to do, Jolene."
Yes, “Jolene” is based on real events from Dolly’s own life. The song was mainly inspired by a red-haired bank teller who flirted with her husband, Carl Thomas Dean , all the way back at the beginning of their marriage.
"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," Dolly revealed in a 2008 NPR interview.
But the name "Jolene" was actually inspired by another redhead: a young girl she met in the autograph line at one of her concerts.
"I said, 'Well, you're the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?' And she said, 'Jolene,'" Dolly said. "And I said, 'Jolene... That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that.'"
Worried about Dolly and Carl's relationship after listening to those lyrics? You shouldn't be: The lovebirds have been happily married since 1966 .
"We're really proud of our marriage," Dolly told the Toronto Sun in 2011. "It's the first for both of us. And the last."
J.Lo's Abs Look Insane In This Crop Top
Kathie Lee Gifford Reacts to Kelly Ripa's New Book
How to Watch the Charlie Brown Halloween Special
Jessie James Decker Is Painted Head-to-Toe in Gold
Er, Charles' Coronation Is on Archie's Birthday
Here's When Clocks Fall Back In 2022
Meet the Cast of 'The Curse of Bridge Hollow'
Is 'The Watcher' Based on a True Story?
Vanessa and Nick Lachey Shared Major Career News
Chapel Hart Confirms Tribute to Loretta Lynn
Jamie Lee Curtis, 63, Poses Nude In New Photos
How to Watch 'Fixer Upper: The Castle'
Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission.
©Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Published on June 27, 2022 11:13 AM

PEOPLE is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. Review our Privacy Policy

Despite their over 50-year romance, Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean are not the type to flaunt their love.

They are hardly ever seen in public together, and photos of the couple tend to come from Parton's personal collection. "I married a really good man, a guy that's completely different from me," the "I Will Always Love You" singer told Parade of her spouse in 2015. "He's not in show business."

Dean is still supportive of Parton's life in the public eye, however. "He's not resentful of any of that," she said. "He loves to hear about the things I do. I love to hear about the things he does. So we enjoy each other's company. We get along good."

The pair first met at a laundromat in Nashville when Parton was just 18 years old. "I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me)," she wrote on her website . "He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about."

Two years later, the twosome snuck off one weekend to tie the knot , with only Parton's mother, the pastor and his wife in attendance. "We thought Ringgold because we knew that was where you could get your license and get married the same day ," she recalled to a local news station in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Though the couple contemplated having children early on, parenthood was not in the cards.

"When my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids," Parton told Billboard in 2014. "We weren't doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did, but it didn't turn out that way."

In 2014, she told PEOPLE , "I often think, it just wasn't meant for me to have kids so everybody's kids can be mine."

Instead, the couple enjoys each other's company. "I'm happy when I'm on stage, I'm happy when things are going great in the business, but I'm also very happy when I'm home with [Dean] and we do our little things together," she previously told Parade . "We sight-see all of Tennessee and Kentucky, the areas that we can get back home from at night. Sometimes we'll stay over at a Days Inn [motel] where we can just pull up and sneak me in. We don't care, as long as the bed's clean and there's a bathroom. That's how we live."

After 50 years together , the pair renewed their vows at their home in Nashville in 2016. "We just had a simple little ceremony at our chapel at our place," she told Rolling Stone .

From meeting in Nashville to their golden anniversary, here's everything to know about Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean's relationship.

The couple first met in 1964 at the Wishy Washy Laundromat on Parton's first day in Nashville. "I'd come to Nashville with dirty clothes," Parton told the New York Times . "I was in such a hurry to get here — and after I'd put my clothes in the machine, I started walkin' down the street, just lookin' at my new home, and this guy hollered at me, and I waved. Bein' from the country, I spoke to everybody. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband."

"My first thought was I'm gonna marry that girl," Dean later said of their initial meeting. "My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin.' And that was the day my life began."

The pair's relationship progressed quickly from there. Parton was living with her aunt and uncle, watching their son while they were at work. "He came up every day that week and we set out on the porch," she said in a 1976 interview with the New York Times . "I wouldn't even take him in the house."

Instead, Dean took her to his house on a day when she didn't have to babysit. "That was my first chance to go anywhere with Carl, and he drove me straight to his folks' house and introduced me to his mother and daddy," she shared. "'Cause he said he knew right the minute he saw me that that's the one he wanted."

Dean's proposal to his girlfriend of two years wasn't exactly traditional. In the book Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton by Stephen Miller, Parton revealed that Dean's offer of marriage was a practical one. "He said, 'You're gonna have to move closer into town or we're gonna have to get married,' " she shared.

Dean accompanied Parton to a Broadcast Music, Inc. dinner to watch her accept her first songwriter award for "Put It Off Until Tomorrow."

"Carl and I got dressed up, he was in a tux, and we drove to the dinner. We got out and walked up the red carpet and went inside and sat through dinner and the awards, and I went up and got my award," she reportedly recalled to an audience at a Marty Stuart Jam.

But the limelight wasn't for Dean. "After the dinner, we walked back out, and they brought us our car … and we got in it and headed for home," she said. "Carl turned to me and said, 'Dolly, I want you to have everything you want, and I'm happy for you, but don't you ever ask me to go to another one of them dang things again!' "

Parton's engagement was a source of contention with her then-manager, Fred Foster . "He asked me not to get married. He said it'll make it so much harder if you're married with all this promotion," she said in 2012 .

While the warning was enough to make Parton cancel her plans for a large ceremony, she and Dean snuck out the next weekend to tie the knot.

The private nuptials, which took place at the Ringgold Baptist Church in Ringgold, Georgia, were attended by only the pastor Don Duvall, his wife, and Parton's mother, Avie Lee Owens . "I said, 'I've got to have momma there,' " the singer said. "So I had bought a little dress, momma had bought me a Bible, some flowers on it. We grabbed momma and went back, and got married on a Monday, in a church."

Their celebration was short-lived, however, as the newlyweds each had work the following day. "We took momma back to the bus station in Chattanooga so she could ride on back to Knoxville," Parton recalled. "So she wouldn't be on our so-called honeymoon, which was a few hours and we both had to go back to work the next morning.

Ladies' Home Journal reported in 2008 that Dean waited until after they were married to say "I love you." In her autobiography, Parton wrote that his shy nature left her feeling "as mixed up as a road lizard in a spin dryer."

The 9 to 5 star gave fans a glimpse of her husband with the release of her first solo album, My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy . The album's cover features the businessman sitting on a log wearing jeans and a plaid red shirt.

In 2008, Parton told NPR that the name of her 1973 hit "Jolene" was inspired by a little girl with "beautiful red hair" at one of her shows, but its story was shaped by a flirtation that developed between Dean and a local bank teller.

"She got this terrible crush on my husband," Parton said of the teller. "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."

Years later, Parton shared more details, telling a crowd at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England, that she had eventually intervened. "I wrote that years ago when my husband … was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be," she said per The Independent . "I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry."

While appearing on the cover of PEOPLE in 1977, Parton made a rare comment about her husband.

"He's sort of shy and quiet," she said of Dean, who at the time had never seen Parton perform. "What we have together is so sweet and good that I'd never want it to get jumbled up with the other."

The singer also opened up about whether the couple planned on having children in the future.

"I don't know that I won't have children someday," she shared. "But it's just not possible for me to bear children and leave them for somebody else to raise while I have a career. If I wait until I'm naturally too old to have children, I can always adopt them."

Parton added, "When I listen to my own things, I think to myself, 'I was the mother of that.' "

In January 1979, Cosmopolitan reported that Parton's band leader, Gregg Perry, staged a double surprise party for Dean and writer Laura Cunningham. "[Dean] never goes with us, but this week he's made a real exception," Perry said. "I guess 'cause we're here for an entire week, and also, 'cause it's his birthday."

In 1981, PEOPLE reported that Dean was so private that some asserted that he didn't actually exist. Parton denied those claims, noting that he traveled with her to Los Angeles for much of her two-month shooting schedule for 9 to 5 .

"Carl is the one man in my life," she said at the time. "I would love to grow old with him. If he should die first, I may never marry again. My love is that deep."

In 1994, Parton wrote in her autobiography that she formed a strong connection with her band leader, Gregg Perry, in the early '80s. "Gregg and I became very close … I had never spent so much time with such a well-educated and knowledgeable man," she wrote. "I let myself get completely wrapped up in him."

Things went sour for the pair while producing the music for Parton's 1982 film, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas . "It was not a fun project for anyone involved … Gregg quit altogether," she wrote. "He told me he couldn't take the pressure and the B.S. of the business anymore. The joy had gone out of it for him and I'm sure that I was no picnic to live with at that time … I was crushed when he left … It just about killed me. I cried an ocean."

But in 1982, Parton denied rumors of a divorce with PEOPLE . "[Dean] was the man God intended for me to have," she
Xxx Eva Notty New Jordi Nino Polla
Www New Xxx Com
Russians Redhead Mom

Redhead Dolly Parton

Report Page