Dolly Parton’s Husband Carl Dean Rarely Spoke—But Hated This Cover

Carl Dean was married to one of country music’s biggest stars, but he was never especially fond of the genre. Dolly Parton and Dean were widely regarded as soulmates until the end, even though their musical preferences were often worlds apart. Dean, who owned an asphalt-paving business and enjoyed farm life, leaned toward rock ’n’ roll. So when Parton announced in 2002 that she planned to record a bluegrass version of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” her husband was skeptical. “He said, ‘I don’t think you should do that,’ and I said, ‘Well, why?’ And he said, ‘Because it’s a damn legend. It’s a classic,’” she recalled during a 2023 interview with Absolute Radio.

Parton went ahead with the recording anyway, much to Dean’s predictable disappointment. After hearing it, he joked, “Are you sure that’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘Stairwell to Hell?’” The song appeared on her studio album “Halos & Horns,” but Dean’s reservations were not simply about musical taste. Parton later explained that he was also worried she would face criticism for taking on such an iconic rock song. “He was kind of concerned about me doing it,” she told Classic Rock magazine in 2023. “He said: ‘I don’t know if you need to mess with that, because I think you’ll get a lot of criticism.’”

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As it turned out, Dean’s concerns were unfounded. Rolling Stone later included Parton’s rendition of “Stairway to Heaven” among her 50 best songs. Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin’s lead singer, also praised her interpretation. “She’s keeping it within the genre, and she’s a good singer,” he told Launch in 2002, according to BabblerMouth.net. Dean may not have been impressed by the first version, but Parton eventually won his approval when she revisited the song years later.

A year after Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, she released “Rockstar,” her first and only rock album. The project represented a major departure from her country music roots, while also serving as a tribute to the love story she shared with Dean. Although Parton built her career in country, she developed a lasting appreciation for rock through her husband. “I dedicated it to him because he has always loved rock’n’roll. The harder [and] louder, the better,” she told Billboard.

For “Rockstar,” Parton recorded “Stairway to Heaven” again, this time with Lizzo contributing flute. She said she wanted Dean to know she could perform the song in a way that honored its original form. “I wanted, more than anything, for Carl to know that I could do that too. So I decided to be true to its form,” she told Classic Rock. This version finally earned Dean’s endorsement. “He did love my version of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ because I stayed so true to it on this rock album,” Parton said during her Absolute Radio interview. His reaction surprised her: “Carl said: ‘Y’know, that’s pretty good.’ That’s really something coming from him!”

Dean’s praise carried particular weight because he was never deeply involved in Parton’s music career. “He’s not necessarily one of my biggest fans — as my music,” she said on “Good Morning Britain” in 2019. Still, his lack of interest in her music did not reflect a lack of support. Dean remained a steady presence as Parton navigated her extraordinary path to stardom. “He’s always supporting me as long as I don’t try to drag him in on it. He’s always been my biggest fan behind the scenes,” she told People in 2019.