holley grew up in jackson, mississippi where at an early age she learned to play the auto-harp, ukulele, piano, and guitar; though it was playing guitar that really piqued her interest. she has said, "i was never that good at playing piano, and maybe that's because i didn't practice enough, but i found the guitar fun to play. it wasn't a chore to practice." her college days were spent in chicago and, at the urging of a professor, she set to music a poem by william blake. soon thereafter came holley's first independent release, "night air". she moved to north carolina where in 1999 she created a collection of traditional hymns and gospel songs which caught the attention of radio listeners and yep rock records. she was signed and released her third album which was tilted simply, "claire holley".