Janice Kapp Perry facts for kids
Janice Kapp Perry (born October 1, 1938) is an American who writes music, songs, and books. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has written over 3,000 songs. Some of her songs are in the church's official songbooks, like the Children's Songbook. Two of her most famous songs are "I Love to See the Temple" and "A Child's Prayer."
Janice Kapp Perry has also created music albums in many languages. These include Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Contents
Early Life and Music
Janice Kapp Perry was born on October 1, 1938, in Ogden, Utah. She grew up on a farm in Vale, Oregon. Her family was very musical. Her mother, Ruth, played the piano and wrote plays with music for kids. Her father, Jacob, played the drums to join the family band.
After her father passed away, Janice took his place playing the drums. The children in her family also sang together in a group of four. In high school, she played the snare drum and tympani in the band. She also wrote her very first song, called "I Walked in God's Garden."
Even though music was a big part of her childhood, Janice loved playing sports the most. She enjoyed volleyball, basketball, and even football. Softball was her favorite sport.
Perry later went to Brigham Young University (BYU). There, she studied how to write and understand music. While at BYU, she played in the concert band and orchestra. She also sang in the choir.
How She Started Composing
When Janice Kapp Perry was 38, she broke her ankle playing basketball. At the same time, her television stopped working. This gave her extra time. Her church group then asked her to write music for their local show. She started entering church songwriting contests. She also wrote new songs for her church community.
At first, Perry tried writing many kinds of music, including pop songs. She sent her songs to music companies in Nashville and Los Angeles. But she didn't find success with pop music. So, she began writing more modern gospel music.
Her first church song, "I'll Follow Jesus," was written in 1976. She sent the music to local bookstores. She also worked with another church musician, Merrill Jenson, to make more music. Perry released her first album, Where is Heaven, in 1978.
Two years later, she created a musical show called "It's a Miracle." This show was performed in 239 different places. She and her husband also started their own music company, Prime Recordings.
Working with Others
Janice Kapp Perry first wrote both the music and the words for her songs. Later, she also wrote music for words written by other people. She created melodies for words by Emily H. Woodmansee and Gordon B. Hinckley.
She also worked with Orrin Hatch to create six albums of songs. In 2001, their song "Heal our Land" was sung at the National Prayer Breakfast. It was sung again in 2005 for the special event when George W. Bush became president.
In 2008, after one of her nieces died, Perry put music to a poem. The poem was called "What is this Thing Called Death," written by church president Gordon B. Hinckley. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang this song at Hinckley's funeral.
Perry has written many, many songs. She has written almost 3,000 songs. These songs are on more than 108 albums. She has also written eight long musical pieces called cantatas. Two of these have been performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. She has also written several musicals.
She is a member of the Utah Composers Guild. She has traveled around the world to perform her music, including to Japan and Taiwan.
"A Child's Prayer"
During her career, Janice Kapp Perry had a strange pain that made one of her hands unable to move. Doctors could not find a way to fix it. This made it very hard for her to play the piano and write music. Even so, she kept writing songs. She learned to create them in her mind instead.
When she felt very sad about her hand, Perry wrote a song called "Lord Are You There?" She later changed and simplified this song. It became her well-loved song, "A Child's Prayer."
There was a small disagreement about the song. A church committee thought the words should use old-fashioned prayer language, like "thee" and "thou." But Perry said that a child would not use those words when praying. In the end, the song stayed the same.
Performances of Her Music
Many people and groups have performed Janice Kapp Perry's music. This includes famous artists like Brooks & Dunn and Gladys Knight. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has also performed her songs.
Her music has also been on TV shows. These include Robert Schuller's program Hour of Power and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her music was played on Oprah's show after the attacks on 9/11. Pianist Marvin Goldstein also made albums where he played Perry's songs.
Personal Life
Janice Kapp Perry met her husband, Doug, in a music class at BYU. They were married on September 26, 1958, just before her 20th birthday. Their wedding took place in the Logan Utah Temple. They had five children together. They also helped raise many other children. Doug passed away in July 2018.
While raising her family, Perry joined and started community softball teams. She led them to win many games. She also enjoyed volleyball, racquetball, and basketball. She sang in church choirs and local community choirs. She was chosen to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She sang first alto in the choir from 1993 to 1999.
Soon after, she and her husband served as missionaries in Chile. When they finished their mission, they had organized four choirs. These choirs were made up of local church members and young missionaries.
She currently lives in Provo, Utah.
Awards and Documentaries
Janice Kapp Perry has received many awards for her work.
- In 1994, she received the Exemplary Woman Award from Ricks College (now BYU–Idaho).
- In 1997, she won the BYU Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
- In 1998, she received the National George Washington Medal of Honor. This was for an album she wrote with Orrin Hatch.
- In 1999, Perry won two awards: the Exceptional Merit Award and the Heritage Award.
- In 2001, the Faith Centered Music Association gave her their Lifetime Achievement Award.
LDS Living magazine made a list of the 100 greatest songs from her church. Perry's song "A Child's Prayer" was number one on this list. Several of her other songs also made the list:
- "We'll Bring the World His Truth" (#8)
- "No Ordinary Man" (#13)
- "Love is Spoken Here" (#19)
- "In the Hollow of Thy Hand" (#21)
- "I Love to See the Temple" (#22)
- "His Image in Your Countenance" (#24)
- "I Walk By Faith" (#27)
In 2000, Perry wrote a book called Songs From My Heart. It tells the stories behind her songs. A movie about her life was also made. It was called Janice Kapp Perry: A Life of Service and Song. It first showed in 2009.
In April 2020, BYU gave her a special honorary degree. It was a doctor of Christian service in music.
Images for kids
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Janice Kapp Perry in 2019
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Janice Kapp Perry, center, in 2019
