Dolly Parton Honored With Star-Studded Opry 100 Tribute 2 Weeks After Her Husband’s Death
The country music community will always love Dolly Parton.
The “Jolene” singer received not one, but two touching tributes during NBC and Peacock’s Opry 100 celebration in Nashville March 19, several weeks after the 79-year-old mourned the death of her husband of 58 years Carl Dean.
The star-studded night of musical celebrations in honor of the Grand Ole Opry’s milestone 100th anniversary culminated with country superstars Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood and Lady A joining forces to perform Parton’s classic ballad “I Will Always Love You” with the help of Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and 60 members from the famed venue’s choir.
Before the performance, the “I’m A Survivor” singer took a moment to share a few words to Dolly amid her grief.
“Everybody here at the Opry and around the world wants to send you our thoughts and prayers,” Reba said. “And you gotta know, we will always love you.”
Earlier in the telecast—hosted by Blake Shelton—Carly Pearce paid homage to the Queen of Country with a cover of “Jolene.”
Parton’s tributes come two weeks after Parton said goodbye to the love of her life. Dean passed away on March 3 in Nashville at the age of 82, the 9 to 5 star announced on social media.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton—who has been married to Dean since 1966— said in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter). “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Several days later, Parton penned a moving message on her grief journey.
“This is a love note to family, friends, and fans,” she wrote March 6 on Instagram. “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.”
Parton also noted the support she received in the days after his death “meant the world” to her.
“He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that,” she concluded. “I will always love you.”
And just last week, Parton made her first public appearance since Dean’s passing while attending the March 14 launch of her Dollywood theme park’s 40th season celebration.
“Thank you to our guests and the community for the support they’ve given to my Dollywood for 40 years,” the icon reflected of the milestone. “It’s hard to believe it has been that long, but it never would have lasted if it hadn’t been for you—our guests.”
Parton added, “It doesn’t matter what your dream is—even if it’s opening a theme park with your name on it—follow those dreams and never give up!”
Keep reading to look back on Parton and Dean’s epic love story.
Opry 100 is available to stream any time on Peacock.
New Girl in Town
Dolly Parton left two boyfriends behind in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn., so getting into a new relationship was the last thing on her mind when she moved to Nashville in 1964, right after graduating from high school.
Alas, she met Carl Dean while walking down the street on her way to the laundromat the day she arrived in Music City.
As remembered by Parton (Dean—who died March 3, 2025, at the age of 82—never spoke to the press), he was driving by in a white Chevrolet when he called out, “You’re gonna get sunburnt out here, little lady!”
They got to talking “and I fell for him, and he fell for me,” she wrote in her 2020 book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. In another interview, the 5-foot artist, who was 18 when they met, recalled how tan Dean was as he towered over her at 6-foot-2. (The 22-year-old had an asphalt paving business with his father, so was bronzed from working outside.)
She did not, however, hop right into his car. “You gotta know somebody or they may take you on a back road and kill you,” she pointed out, per Stephen Miller‘s 2011 biography, Smart Blonde. Parton did invite Dean to visit her at her aunt and uncle’s house the next day, which he did, though she would only sit with him outside. He came back every day for a week and when he took her out for their first date, he drove her to his parents’ house first because, Parton said, “he said he knew right from the minute he saw me that that’s the one he wanted.”
Artist of Many Talents
But as she started to make a name for herself as a songwriter, collaborating frequently with her uncle Bill Owens, her boss at Combine Music, Fred Foster, warned it would be a bad idea for her to get married, as she was on the verge of getting her big break as a singer.
Instead, she and Dean—who’d been planning a big wedding—didn’t put off getting married another day, eloping to Ringgold, Ga., and tying the knot May 30, 1966, with only mother-of-the-bride Avie Lee Parton by their side (and serving as their wedding photographer).
Source: https://www.eonline.com/
