The origin story for 'Jolene'? Dolly Parton's husband and another woman's 'terrible crush'
One of Dolly Parton’s biggest hits was inspired, in part, by her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean.
One of Dolly Parton’s biggest hits was inspired, in part, by her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean.
The country music icon said her 1973 smash hit “Jolene,” which went to the top of Billboard’s country music chart, came about thanks to a bank teller who had a little thing for Dean.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton told NPR in 2008.
“And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kind of 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.”
Parton, who also said she came up with the name of the song after meeting a young fan at a concert, announced on Instagram on March 3 that Dean had died at the age of 82. The couple were married for nearly 60 years.
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