One lives in the spotlight, the other keeps a low profile. Opposites attract in the powerful, 56-year-long marriage between Dolly Parton and Carl Dean. But different preferences for privacy wouldn’t be the only thing hanging between these two. In fact, Parton deciding to go ahead and marry Dean was a risky move that received quite a bit of protest and led to just another patented act of Parton rebellion.
Of course, Parton following her heart is nothing new for the country music powerhouse. She began shaping her own ostentatious image when she was a teen and lives life based on whatever makes her happiest. But because of industry standards, following her heart could have been career suicide.
Dolly Parton marrying Carl Dean was just another act of passionate rebellion
In broad terms, the bigger a music label, the more iron their grip over the artists they’ve signed. This can be frustrating at best – dictating what genres and topics they sing about – and crippling at worst – seizing the majority of funds earned by the artist’s hard work.
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In the mid-’60s, Parton signed with Monument Records. Jump just a little bit ahead to ’66, Parton was ready to tie the knot with Dean. Usually, Dean preferred distance from the spotlight but for an occasion such as their wedding, the couple planned on a big celebration. However, when Parton’s label heard that she would be getting married in holy matrimony, the label wanted as little publicity as possible.
It would have been even better, really, if Parton had remained single. But Parton never made decisions for herself based on the judgments of others before – she wasn’t going to start now.
Parton committing this rebellion won the day but in a bittersweet way
It wasn’t uncommon for big labels to prefer their artists to stay single. That’s because fans would have even more reason to be drawn to an artist – maybe they have a chance! They were, at least, available. Marriage put a hard stop on that and, labels believed, the artist lost a unique layer of allure.
Parton wasn’t about to do that, with how smitten she and Dean were, and in an act of rebellion, she and Dean still tied the knot. Except, in contrast to their elaborate ceremony, they eloped. It was a victory but a quietly pyrrhic one.
“I never really felt like I had the wedding that we really wanted,” she admitted to PEOPLE. To make up for it, she and Dean pulled out all the stops for their 50th anniversary. “He got all dressed up and I got all dressed up. Fifty years is a long time for anything, and I felt that we needed to do something to commemorate this. It’s been a good 50 years and I don’t know how many more years we’ll have left.”
If these two lovebirds had it there way, it could doubtlessly be 50 more years of joy!
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