Biography[edit]
Proctor was born in Charleston, West Virginia, daughter of Danny Proctor, a selfless man, known for his gracious heart and thoughtful donations of time and labor whenever he could help. When she was in grade school, she appeared in local productions of Annie and The Sound of Music. By the time she was in junior high school, she had signed with a New York management company that also managed New Kids on the Block.[1] Proctor also competed on the television talent show Star Search, and by the time she was eighteen, she had begun writing songs and performing in local bands as well.[1] (One band in which she performed also included a then-unknown Blake Shelton.)[3]
Proctor moved to Nashville, Tennessee in the mid 1990s in pursuit of a record deal. By the late 1990s, The Lynns, Sonya Isaacs, and Kortney Kayle had all recorded some of her compositions. In 2002, Martina McBride released "Where Would You Be", another one of Proctor's compositions, which reached number 3 on the Billboard country charts.[3] Proctor also sang backing vocals on Shelton's 2002 single "Ol' Red".[4] Later that same year, Proctor signed to BNA Records, releasing her debut single "Days Like This" in 2003. The song, which served as the lead-off single to her debut album Where I Belong, reached 24 on the country charts. It was followed by the number 43 "Didn't I", and then in 2004 by her highest chart hit, the number 18 "Me and Emily". Finally, the album's title track was released as its fourth single, peaking at 37. Proctor left BNA records to return to songwriting full-time. She has released two independent albums, "What Didn't Kill Me" and "Only Lonely Girl."
Proctor, along with Victoria Banks, co-wrote Jessica Simpson's 2008 singles "Come On Over" and "Remember That", the former of which was Simpson's first country single. She also co-wrote Jesse Lee's 2009 debut single "It's a Girl Thing" in collaboration with Banks, as well as Jennette McCurdy's 2010 single "Not That Far Away" and Lauren Alaina's 2012 single "Georgia Peaches".