Crain was born and raised in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is of Choctaw heritage. She attended Grove School in Shawnee and Dale High School in Dale, Oklahoma. As a child and teenager, Crain competed in powerlifting. Crain taught herself to play guitar and wrote songs based on her short stories the summer before her senior year at Dale High School. Crain began touring when she was 19. Her first tours were either solo or as a duo with Beth Bombara. She then founded Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers with Jacob Edwards and Andrew Tanz and toured with this band until 2009.
She was, at one time, engaged to John Calvin Abney, her former musical collaborator.
Discography
''The Confiscation EP: A Musical Novella''
Crain's first recording was the self-released EP The Confiscation. It was produced by Joey Lemon of the Chicago-based band, Berry, and later reissued by Ramseur Records in 2007. It is based on five short stories by Crain.
''Songs in the Night''
Crain's first LP with her former backing band, the Midnight Shivers, was the April 28, 2009 release Songs in the Night. The album was produced by Danny Kadar and recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina. Songs in the Night features Crain on acoustic guitar and vocals, Jacob Edwards on drums, trombone, and harmonica, Andrew Tanz on bass guitar, keys, and vocals, and Stephen Sebastian on electric guitar. Ben Wigler, formerly of the band Arizona, provides vocal harmonies on the track "Get the Fever Out". Songs in the Night was met with critical praise. Paste magazine gave the record a rating of 78 out of 100 and featured it many times online and in the magazine. Rolling Stone magazine reviewed it with 3.5 stars out of 5, saying "Her voice is gorgeously odd — all fulsome, shape-shifting vowels that do indeed billow like fog."
''You (Understood)''
After the Midnight Shivers disbanded, Crain released her second LP on June 8, 2010. The album was recorded in 7 days in Joey Lemon's studio in Wichita, Kansas. It features Crain on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, and keys, Joey Lemon on bass, percussion, and vocals, Arizona's Ben Wigler on vocals and electric guitar, Eric Nauni on drums and percussion, and Sherree Chamberlain on vocals on "We Are the Same". Frontier Ruckus's Matthew Milia and David Jones are featured on the song "Santa Fe" with Milia on vocals and Jones on banjo. The album release was followed by an NPR Weekend Edition feature. This album was released in UK and Benelux on November 8, 2011. "Santa Fe" has gone on to be one of Crain's most loved songs.
''A Simple Jungle''
Crain released the 7" vinyl single, A Simple Jungle on January 10, 2012. Its two tracks were produced by John Vanderslice in San Francisco at Tiny Telephone Studio and features Anne Lillis on percussion. She has said in interviews and at performances that these two songs came out of a failed relationship while living in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
''Kid Face''
Produced by John Vanderslice in San Francisco at Tiny Telephone, Crain's third album Kid Face was released on February 19, 2013. John Calvin Abney, Kyle Reid, Brine Webb, Daniel Foulks, Anne Lillis, and Anna Ash contributed to the album. Jacob Winik engineered and mixed. This album was released in Europe and UK by Full Time Hobby Records on January 13, 2014. PASTE Magazine gave the album an 8.8 with high praise. Rolling Stone Magazine, SPIN, NME, the Guardian, and No Depression all reviewed the album highly as well. Crain has mentioned the song "For the Miner" on this album was written for Jason Molina shortly before his death. A music video for the song "Never Going Back" was produced by Lamar + Nik.
''Under Branch & Thorn & Tree''
Crain returned to Tiny Telephone to record her 4th full-length album "Under Branch & Thorn & Tree" again with John Vanderslice producing. The album also features the Magik*Magik Orchestra led by Minna Choi. It was released July 17, 2015 on 200 gram audiophile quality vinyl boasting its fully analog recording, mixing, and mastering process. It was pressed at QRP in Salina, Kansas and mastered by Bernie Grundman. Jacob Winik engineered and mixed the album. John Calvin Abney, Jesse Aycock, Reed Mathis, Anne Lillis, and Meric Long are all featured musicians on the record. The Guardian, Uncut, Rolling Stone, No Depression, and Blurt Magazine all reviewed the album with critical praise. A music video for the song "Killer" was produced by Dorian Electra and Weston G. Allen. Also a video for "Kathleen" was produced by Lamar + Nik.
''You Had Me At Goodbye''
On March 24, 2017, Crain released her 5th full-length album "You Had Me At Goodbye". It was recorded at Tiny Telephone Oakland in Oakland, CA and produced by John Vanderslice. Once again, this album boasted fully analog recording, mixing, and mastering. Jamie Riotto arranged clarinets and strings for this record and played bass. Rob Shelton, Jason Slota, David Phillips, Geneva Harrison, and Ben Goldberg are all featured musicians on this album. The album received critical acclaim from NPR, Impose Magazine, and the Line of Best Fit. A music video for the song "Oh Dear Louis" was created by Crain and Jared Evans. Crain toured the album in UK and Europe before cancelling her US tour for personal reasons. The album features the song "Red Sky, Blue Mountain" which is entirely written and sung in the Choctaw language.
''A Small Death''
In mid-2017, Crain was involved in three car accidents within three months, which left her bedridden and without feeling in her hands. Unable to write or play she dictated voice memos to her phone. After 18 months as she began to recover Clain started to play and write the songs that would become the album A Small Death, released by Ramseur Records on July 17, 2020.
