Dolly Parton said she couldn’t stop crying after she saw her hit song “I Will Always Love You” performed by several country music stars in tribute to her late husband, Carl Dean.
Parton, who was married to Dean for 58 years, took to Instagram Friday to express her feelings after she saw several music stars pay a tribute to Dean during “Opry 100: A Live Celebration” on March 19.
Reba McEntire and Lady A led a choir of music stars who sang “I Will Always Love You” during the 100th Anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry show, according to tasteofcountry.com.
“I have not stopped crying over the beautiful tribute of ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the 100th Anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry show,” Parton wrote on Friday in an Instagram post.
“All those beautiful people with all their beautiful voices singing my song as a tribute to my husband Carl … the emotion was beyond words. I have cried enough to wash a great deal of the pain away so thanks to all of you beautiful people that helped make that possible,” she continued. “I also will always love you.”
Parton announced the death of Dean on March 3 in a separate Instagram post. He was survived by his siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
Parton met Dean at a laundromat in Nashville in 1964 on her first day in the city, according to People.com. Two years later they got married on May 30, 1996.
Dean was known for being a very private person during his relationship with the country music star, according to the magazine. He also helped inspire Parton’s hit song “Jolene” after a woman had a crush on Dean, Parton told NPR.
“And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention,” she told the news outlet in 2008. “It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”
