Carl Dean Rarely Commented On Dolly Parton's Music, But He Hated This Cover Idea

Carl Dean was married to arguably country music's biggest icon, but he wasn't exactly a fan of the genre. By all accounts, Dolly Parton and her husband were soulmates until the end, but they had different tastes in music. Dean, an asphalt-paving business owner and lover of the farm lifestyle, preferred rock 'n' roll over country. When Parton revealed that she intended to do a bluegrass cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" in 2002, her husband wasn't on board. "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 told Absolute Radio in 2023.

In news that surprises no one, she did it anyway. And Dean was as unimpressed as he suspected he would be. "He said, 'Are you sure that's 'Stairway to Heaven' or 'Stairwell to Hell'?" she laughed. Later, Parton revealed that Dean's reaction to the cover, which was featured on her "Halos & Horns" studio album, was also rooted in love. "He was kind of concerned about me doing it. He said: 'I don't know if you need to mess with that, because I think you'll get a lot of criticism,'" she told Classic Rock magazine in 2023. 

It turned out that Dean had nothing to worry about. Rolling Stone ranked Parton's version of "Stairway to Heaven" among her 50 best songs, and Led Zeppelin's own Robert Plant praised Parton's ability to make the song her own. "She's keeping it within the genre, and she's a good singer," he told Launch in 2002 (via BabblerMouth.net). Dean may not have been a fan the first time around, but he gave his stamp of approval when she did it a second time.

The year after Dolly Parton's 2022 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, she released "Rockstar," her first and only rock album. It marked a deviation from her traditional work, but it's also a meaningful tribute to Parton and Carl Dean's love story. Even though she dedicated her career to country music, Parton harbored a special love for rock thanks to Dean. "I dedicated it to him because he has always loved rock'n'roll. The harder [and] louder, the better," she told Billboard.

In "Rockstar," Parton included a second rendition of "Stairway to Heaven" featuring Lizzo on the flute. "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 time around, Dean was a fan. "He did love my version of 'Stairway to Heaven' because I stayed so true to it on this rock album," she said in the Absolute Radio interview. Parton was surprised. "Carl said: 'Y'know, that's pretty good.' That's really something coming from him!" she told Classic Rock.

His approval meant a lot to her because he had never been super involved in her music. "He's not necessarily one of my biggest fans — as my music," she said on "Good Morning Britain" in 2019. That doesn't mean he didn't support her. On the contrary, he was Parton's rock in her unique journey 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.