Parton says she was based on a real person who got a little too close to her real-life husband, Carl Dean. In 2008, the singer told NPR that the inspiration behind "Jolene" was a pretty bank ...

The singer's hit song was released in October 1973, and was inspired by a woman who had a crush on her husband, Carl Dean ... But the “real” Jolene didn’t try to “take” Dean.