Rain Perry (born November 9, 1966) is an American folk-rock

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted t ...

. Her song "Beautiful Tree" was the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at s ...

for the

CW Network CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environm ...

series ''

Life Unexpected ''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner ...

''. "Yosemite," her celebration of the pains of growing up, won the Grand Prize (Folk Division) in the 2000

John Lennon Songwriting Contest John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and has been recorded by

Tom Russell Thomas George Russell (born 1947/1948) is an American singer-songwriter. Although most strongly identified with the Americana music tradition, his music also incorporates elements of folk, rock, and the cowboy music of the American West. Ma ...

and

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program '' Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award ...

. She is the author of autobiographical one-woman, multi-media show ''Cinderblock Bookshelves'' and the director of the documentary The Shopkeeper, about the state of the music business as told through the story of Austin music producer Mark Hallman. She is currently working on a theatrical companion piece to her latest record, ''A White Album'', with a workshop production directed by Kim Maxwell scheduled for Fall 2022.

Biography

Rain Noel Perry was born in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...

. She spent her early years in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

and

Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, b ...

as a member of Bethel Tabernacle church. When her young mother died in 1974 Perry was raised by her father, writer/actor John Hazen Perry. They lived variously in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is a ...

, southwestern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, and

, before settling in

Ojai Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

, California, where she attended

Nordhoff High School Nordhoff High School (NHS), originally Nordhoff Union High School, is a public high school in Ojai, California that serves the Ojai Valley. The school, established in 1910, is part of the Ojai Unified School District. History The original Nordh ...

, graduating in 1984. She married attorney Bill Slaughter in 1988 and graduated with high honors from the

University of California at Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

in 1995, with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. She and her husband live in Ojai with their two daughters. When she was twenty-two, Perry was diagnosed with

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and ...

, which affects two million Americans, mostly women. She now works as an advocate for people with arthritis. In 2000, she produced "Agility: A Woman’s Music Festival to Benefit the Arthritis Foundation," featuring

Julie Christensen Julie Christensen (born January 21, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for its versatility, Christensen's music has been praised by critics. As a solo artist, Christensen has released five albums, and in January 2016 released the ...

Perla Batalla Perla Batalla (born 1964) is an American vocalist, composer and arranger who first gained international attention as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen before embarking on a solo career at his encouragement. Her debut album, ''Perla Batalla'', ...

Victoria Williams Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with mul ...

and

Sara Hickman Sara Hickman (born March 1, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and artist.Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University)Guide to the Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library ...

. The play “Cinderblock Bookshelves” evolved from her 2008 album of the same name and is a memoir of her

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

childhood, an ode to her imperfect, beloved family. The play's subtitle is "A Guide for Children of Fame-Obsessed Bohemian Nomads," and it had its world premiere in 2008 at Theater 150 in Ojai, California, under the direction of Kim Maxwell, with Sasha Heslip producing. Rain's song "Beautiful Tree," from the album ''Cinderblock Bookshelves'', was chosen as the theme for the

television series

. Rain appeared as herself, alongside

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is '' Surfacing'', for which she won two Grammy Awards (ou ...

and

Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...

, in a music festival episode, a crossover with the series

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

Music

Rain Perry has released six albums and several singles on her own label, Precipitous Records. She has been a guest performer albums by other musicians. Her last five albums were produced by

Mark Hallman Mark Hallman (born August 1, 1951) is an American producer, songwriter, engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked with Carole King (appearing on six of her albums as a performer and producer), Ani DiFranco, and Eliza Gilkyson. In the ...

at the Congress House in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

Film

Perry’s first film, a documentary about

of the Congress House studio called ''The Shopkeeper'' featuring Ani DiFranco,

Eliza Gilkyson Eliza Gilkyson (born August 24, 1950, Hollywood, California) is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician.Gilkyson moved her base from Austin, Texas, to Taos in 2020. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and his wife, ...

, and

Mark Andes Mark Andes (born February 19, 1948) is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal. Early life Andes was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Los Angeles, one ...

, was released in 2016.

Awards

▪ 2000 Telluride Troubadour Competition (

Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride Bluegrass Festival is an annual music festival in Telluride, Colorado hosted by Planet Bluegrass. Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of related genres. History The tow ...

) Finalist ▪ 2000

– Grand Prize (Folk Division) ▪ 2005

ROCKRGRL ''ROCKRGRL'' was the first national publication for female musicians in the United States. Created by Carla DeSantis, the magazine purely focused on women in music and highlighted the artistic diversity of women musicians, often overlooked in ma ...

Discoveries Award Grand Prize

Discography

*Balance (2000) *Wide Awake (CD Single) (2001) *Cinderblock Bookshelves (2008) *Internal Combustion (2011) *Men (2013) *Let's Be Brave (2019) *A White Album (2022)

References

''Four Folk Tales for the Modern Age''Amazon.com"Clouded By Memories" - Ventura County StarAspen TimesVentura County Reporter: Growing Up NakedVentura County Reporter: Rain on FilmFilmmaking Noob Rain Perry on What She's Learned About the CraftProduction Values: A Music Film Celebrates a Storied Austin Studio

External links

Rain Perry's Website

Rain Perry's Facebook page

Rain Perry's Last.fm page

Website for ''The Shopkeeper''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Rain People from Hollywood, Los Angeles People from Ojai, California Living people 1966 births Musicians from Redondo Beach, California