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.

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's devoted husband of nearly 60 years who avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless hit “Jolene,” died Monday. He was 82. According to a statement provided to The Associated Press by Parton's publicist,

Dolly Parton's hit song was released in October 1973 and has since been covered by dozens of musicians. She previously said that the ballad was "loosely based on a little bit of truth" by a woman who had a crush on the singer's late husband,