Dolly Parton has released a loving tribute to her late husband, Carl Dean. Parton, 79, announced last Monday that Dean had passed away at age 82.
The country music legend released “If You Hadn’t Been There,” a song dedicated to Dean and the six decades the couple shared together. Parton posted on Instagram: “I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him. ‘If You Hadn’t Been There.’”
Dean, who was married to Parton for nearly 60 years, avidly avoided the spotlight. The couple met on the day she moved to Nashville at age 18, and they married two years later on Memorial Day, 1966. Dean is said to have inspired one of Parton’s best-known songs, “Jolene.”
After news of his death broke, Parton wrote on her social media, “This is a love note to family, friends, and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl. I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me. He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you,” she continued, referencing her 1973 hit song “I Will Always Love You.”
Take a listen to If You Hadn’t Been There – HERE.
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