“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.” So reads the official statement from Dolly Parton regarding the death of her husband, Carl Dean, who died yesterday, aged 82.
Dean had been famously elusive across the star’s 50-year-plus career, eschewing the limelight and – it’s said – only ever seeing her perform once. However, despite the low profile, he’s perhaps secretly better known as the wayward, flighty figure that’s the subject of her biggest hit.
