Dolly Parton says that her faith has been a source of strength following the death of her husband, Carl Dean.
The entertainment icon's first gospel album was released in 1971, featuring songs such as "I Believe", "Lord Hold My Hand" and "Golden Streets of Glory".
Parton said the same faith showcased on that album sustained her after her husband died in March.
"I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday,” she told the Associated Press.
“And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together. You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans – but that’s the hardest part."
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee was married to Dean for nearly 60 years before he died aged 82.
He shunned the limelight but was known for inspiring her hit “Jolene”, as well as her 2023 album Rockstar.
The 10-time Grammy winner said: "I really feel his presence. I just try to go on, because I know I have to. And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore. But that still doesn’t make up for the loss and the loneliness of it."
Dean was always “very proud” of Parton, she said.
“So when I did lose him, I just thought, well, I’m going to take all of that energy, and I'm just going to put that back into other things, and I’ll keep him ever-present in everything that I do.”
Parton has a new book out, called Star of the Show, which is about “my life on the road and my life on stage”.
She also has an autobiographical musical which will premiere in Nashville in July before opening on Broadway in 2026.
“I just think that if you’re successful, if you are lucky enough to see your dreams come true, you need to make new dreams out of your other dreams,” she said.
“It’s like a tree with lots of limbs and leaves, so every dream, you can kind of branch off – if you’ll pardon the expression – and do other things.”
She said she is a “workhorse that looks like a show horse”.
“My husband always said, ‘If anybody was ever born to be a star, it’s you.’ Because he sees me loving to do all the things and playing and stuff – it’s play time for me. But I take it very serious.”
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