Although Dolly Parton is 78, she isn’t planning to slow down anytime soon. Her incredible career is still going strong, but when she’s not in the spotlight, she enjoys a peaceful life with her husband Carl.
Recently, Dolly shared a new, never-before-seen picture of them together. There’s one particular detail in the photo that’s driving fans crazy.
Dolly Parton has loved music her entire life, and nothing has stopped her from doing what she loves most.
Born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains, Dolly grew up in a big family with little money. As one of 12 children, money was tight.
However, music brought her family together. Her mother sang and played guitar, and Dolly started learning more about music by performing in church at a young age.
“Music was a big part of our whole family,” Dolly remembered. “All of my mama’s people were musical. They all played some sort of musical instrument. I took my music seriously and always played any instrument I could find. But I always loved the guitar.”
Dolly’s uncle gave her her first guitar, and soon she was writing her own songs.
By the age of 10, she was performing on local TV and radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee. At 13, she made her debut on the national country radio station, Grand Ole Opry, earning about $20 a week.
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Family and music were deeply connected for the Partons, and Dolly’s uncles played a big role in her musical journey.
“I had two uncles who played — Uncle Bill, who helped me get into the business, and Uncle Lewis, who was a great guitar player,” Dolly said. “Uncle Lewis had this little Martin guitar that I loved. When he saw how serious I was about music, he gave it to me. It was my treasure.”
Dolly went to high school and graduated, becoming the first in her family to do so. But in 1964, at 18, she decided to focus entirely on her music career. She left home and headed to Nashville, the heart of the country music scene.
“I had a dream,” she said. “And I had a talent, I thought. And I really believed it was going to happen.”
In Nashville, Dolly quickly rose to fame. She worked with Porter Wagoner on The Porter Wagoner Show, and they became very popular. They released several country hits together, and Dolly soon got a contract with RCA Records. In 1971, she landed her first No. 1 country hit with “Joshua,” and many more hits followed, including “Jolene.”
“Jolene” has only 200 words, but it became one of the biggest hits of the 20th century. It reached No. 1 on the charts and was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (both studio and live versions).
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Jolene” No. 217 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
With songs like “I Will Always Love You,” which honored her professional relationship with Porter Wagoner, along with hits like “The Seeker,” “Love Is Like a Butterfly,” and “All I Can Do,” Dolly Parton earned tons of awards and became a global superstar.
She won her first Grammy in 1977 for “Here You Come Again,” and many more hits came after that.
In the 1980s, Dolly expanded her career into movies. She starred with Jane Fonda in the 1980 hit comedy *9 to 5* and also worked on the film’s soundtrack. She continued to appear in films, and in 1986, she opened her own amusement park called Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Dolly says she’s written over 3,000 songs in her career. She’s sold more than 100 million albums, topped the country charts 25 times, and won eight Grammy Awards. And she’s not slowing down.
“Almost every day I come up with a few song titles or a sweet melody,” Dolly told BBC in 2016.
She added, “I’m 16 in some ways. I’m still a hopeless romantic. But I’m 35 in my spirit and mind. When I was 35, it was a great time in my life – success and happiness and all that. So I decided to stay that way in my state of mind.”
While Dolly Parton is famous for her amazing music and performances, she also found true love more than 55 years ago.
In 1964, Dolly met Carl Dean outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee. Dolly was 18, and Carl was 21. From the moment he saw her, Carl knew there was something special about her.
“My first thought was, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,’” Carl said about their first meeting, according to Entertainment Tonight. “My second thought was, ‘Lord, she’s good lookin.’ And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for anything.”
Carl was sitting in his pickup truck when he saw Dolly and called out to her, as Dolly remembered in a 1976 interview with the NY Times.
Dolly didn’t agree to go out with him right away. Instead, she invited him over a few days later while she was babysitting her nephew. That was the start of their lasting love story.
“He came up every day that week, and we just sat out on the porch. I didn’t even let him in the house,” Dolly said.
“When my aunt had a day off, I finally went out with Carl. He took me to his parents’ house and introduced me to them because he knew right away that I was the one he wanted.”
In May 1966, Dolly Parton and Carl Dean got married in a private ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.
Dolly’s record label wanted them to wait to get married because of her career, but Dolly and Carl didn’t want to delay. They chose to have the wedding in Georgia to keep it out of the local Tennessee press.
Only Dolly, Carl, and her mother were at their wedding.
“My mother made me a little white dress, a bouquet, and a Bible,” Dolly remembered. “But I told her, ‘I can’t get married in a courthouse because I won’t feel married.’ So we found a small Baptist church and asked Pastor Don Duvall if he would marry us. We took pictures on the steps right outside the church.”
Since then, Dolly and Carl have been deeply in love. However, Carl rarely joins Dolly on the red carpet for award shows or charity events. The only time he did was when Dolly received her first songwriting award when she was 20.
“After the dinner, we walked out and they brought us our car—I don’t even remember what it was,” Dolly said, according to The Boot. “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 those dang things again!’”
In 2016, Dolly and Carl celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows.
“That was sweet,” Dolly told BBC. “There was no pressure at all. We had a little ceremony in a small chapel on our property, then we took our little RV to Ringgold, Georgia, where we got married 50 years before. We spent the night there, took some beautiful pictures, and got all dressed up. It was really fun.”
“We’ve always been great friends,” Dolly said. “We have a lot of fun and respect for each other. It was our first marriage, and we never thought we’d want to do it again. Why bother?”
Dolly Parton has been a big name in show business her whole life, and having Carl’s support has been important to her. These days, they enjoy doing whatever they want, and they really deserve it.
However, Dolly and Carl chose not to have children. Dolly explained that she had to give up the idea of having kids to focus on her career.
“I’ve made sacrifices, but I think as I said, I believe what I know I’m supposed to do,” Parton told Oprah Winfrey in an interview. “I’ve made the sacrifice of time… and not having time to spend with family, and you give up family and friends, vacation, and work without end, 24/7, 365, but you got to make the sacrifice.”
She told The Guardian that she and Dean have always wondered what their children would look like.
And yet, while Dolly Parton doesn’t have children of her own, she does all she can to help those in need. Parton started the book-gifting program Imagination Library project, which mails free, high-quality books to children from birth up to age five, no matter their family’s income.
According to Parton, there have been up to 125 million kids involved in the program. She says her father was the big inspiration for starting it.
“So when I got ready to start the program, I thought I’m going to do this for my dad and I’m going to bring him along with me to help me with that,” she said.
“So, he got to live long enough to see it really take off and start doing good, and so he loved it when the kids called me the Book Lady. He was prouder of that than saying that my daughter’s a star: ‘My daughter’s the Book Lady.’”
It’s easy to say that Dolly Parton has the time and money to help others. According to Forbes, she has a net worth of about $350 million.
Dolly Parton and her husband Carl are living their best life. And now, through her Instagram page, the beloved singer has shared a new, rare never-seen-before picture of the wonderful couple.
Dolly and Carl are seen holding hands back in the 1960s, and of course, she shows off her iconic blonde hair.
Fans went crazy in the comment section, praising the lovely couple. However, one detail was not quite what anyone had expected.
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border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;”></div> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0;”></div> <div style=”display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;”><svg width=”50px” height=”50px” viewBox=”0 0 60 60″ version=”1.1″ xmlns=”https://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”><g stroke=”none” stroke-width=”1″ fill=”none” fill-rule=”evenodd”><g transform=”translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)” fill=”#000000″><g><path d=”M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631″></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px;”> <div style=” color:#3897f0; 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transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto;”> <div style=” width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);”></div> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);”></div> <div style=” width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);”></div></div></div> <div style=”display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;”> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;”></div> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;”></div></div></a><p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/CVygjSrFInE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;” target=”_blank”>A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src=”//www.instagram.com/embed.js”></script>
Carl is actually seen wearing a shirt from Dolly’s own merchandise range, which has been photoshopped onto his body.
“Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does,” Dolly wrote in the caption to the photo.
Dolly Parton and Carl seem truly happy, and we are so happy for them. Hopefully, we will get to see Dolly perform very soon again.
Please, share this article with friends and family on Facebook to honor Dolly Parton!
