Rai (Madonna) Kay Osia was born on February 6, 1964 in the city of St. Louis, MO. She lived her early childhood in a two story house with her parents and some of eight brothers and sisters. At around age ten, after she watched and was inspired by the Miss America Beauty Pageant talent competition, her mother finally agreed and purchased a flute for her and enrolled her in the grade school band.

Her mom loved music and her dad appreciated a good song. He'd play old 78's, 45's and albums of his favorites like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, etc... Occasionally he'd play old reel to reel tapes of his dad, Silas Osia, playing old Irish ballads on fiddle. Finally he purchased a guitar and songbooks and casually played and sang. He allowed his children ( all of which have some appreciation for music and writing) to learn and explore music on his guitar. This is how Rayna learned her first guitar chords. Eventually Rayna Kay learned to play guitar well enough to enter her eighth grade talent contest and by age thirteen with her first crush on a cute blond boy who drove the neighborhood ice cream truck, she started writing songs.

When Rayna turned fifteen, her parents moved her and her younger sister Shelley to Old Mines, MO, a small town in the hills about 65 miles south of St. Louis. For her, leaving the city and leaving her friends was difficult, but the peaceful country life brought her and her sister closer to share some songwriting and music. Together they placed second with Nashville Tennessee judges when they sang and played Love Is A Rose in the Washington County Fair talent contest. The prize was twenty-five dollars and their pictures in the local newspaper. Rayna then went on and played and sang Let It Be by the Beatles with her guitar class to a crowded auditorium of high school students. Her live performance was played on the local radio station KYRO.

After graduating high school, she went back to St. Louis and was married. It was during the time of her married years that she purchased her first guitar, a Yamaha, with her federal income tax return check that she earned by working as a supermarket cashier.

Despite the struggles of a ten year marriage falling apart, her dream of being a real singer and musician sent her looking in the Soulard area of St. Louis where music was happening. It was there while singing in a little joint called Allen Avenue, that a talented drifter musician named Chuck noticed her and described her voice as unique and raw. He encouraged her to sing more and more and helped her get experience and exposure by taking her to sit in with several other musicians and bands that he knew in Soulard and some of the other surrounding areas. Before long she was sharing stages and recording studios with many other talented people and she continued to write songs. Her and Chuck wrote THE BLUE BEYOND while sitting at the kitchen table in her life long friend Denises' South St. Louis apartment.

In the early 90's while in the midst of a bitter divorce, Rayna followed Chuck to Branson, MO to persue a career as a singer. They set up camp on Indian Point about a mile away from Silver Dollar city. She waitressed but also sang in some of the local clubs and bars and sang alot at the Willie Nelson and Poobah's singer/songwriter showcase restaurant. She started meeting interesting songwriters like Willie and Merle and being that close to it all, gave her a desire to sing and write and her vision of being a real successful songwriter seemed more in reach.

When the Willie/Merle theatre closed in Branson, Rayna Kay accepted an invitation to go stay on 300 acres in a log cabin owned by Willie Nelson in Ridgetop, TN. It was a time filled with lots of laughter and creativity, and while sharing songs and music with the other writers and musicians around her, she hoped of being noticed by someone who could help her achieve great success so that she could shine. It was on the front porch of the cabin, that she met famous songwriter Kostas who too noticed her voice and inspired her to sing and write. She then made her first Nashville demo recording with the A-team that was produced by Poobah and David (furgi) Furgeson. She recorded three songs. OLD WESTERN TOWN by Shelley Osia and Rayna Kay Osia , COLDER THAN BLUE by Poobah and THE BLUE BEYOND by Chuck and Rayna Kay.

Around 1993, Rayna Kay set out in Nashville hoping to meet someone who would help her become a recording artist. She sang every chance she could in honky tonks like The Turf, Tootsies and Roberts Three Doors Down. She sang in lounges and on the streets. She met many people who were looking for the same thing she was. Some of them helped her and some of them she helped and there were many ups and downs, but she continued to sing and to write songs.

Rayna is still singing and playing her songs locally in Nashville, TN . She is also interviewed on public radio in other cities. When somebody recently asked her about her success, Rayna Kay said:
I'll write it down, I'll sing, and I'll never lose my dream."

BY THE LONELY PEN