Paisley Recalls Carl Dean Waiting in Car for Dolly — SkimNews
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- Brad Paisley and Sierra Hull performed "When I Get Where I'm Going" at Wednesday's CMA tribute concert in Nashville, calling the song — originally a 2005 collab with Parton on his album Time Well Wasted — one of the night's emotional highlights.
- Paisley told Rolling Stone's Nashville Now podcast that the track has taken on new meaning after Parton's death in August, saying: "It's really hard to believe that this song, which I did with her, is now about her."
- Paisley recounted that Parton arrived at his house with husband Carl Dean to film her part of the music video, with people holding photos of lost loved ones — Parton held a photo of her "pappy."
- Carl Dean stayed in the car the entire time, never coming inside, and was "just so happy to be in the shadows" and "so happy to drive her around," Paisley said.
- Dolly Parton and Carl Dean were married in 1966; Dean died at 82 in 2025, and Parton died a year later at 80, having been married nearly 60 years.
- The CMA tribute concert — streaming on Hulu and benefiting Dolly Parton's Imagination Library — also featured Ella Langley, Zac Brown, and Carrie Underwood, who closed the show with "I Will Always Love You."
Why it matters: The CMA tribute concert funneled proceeds to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library while giving artists like Paisley a public stage to process Parton's death nearly a year after she passed at 80, transforming a private memory about Carl Dean — who died at 82 in 2025 after nearly 60 years of marriage — into a moment of collective mourning for the country icon.
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