Rachel Proctor

b. Charleston, Western Virginia, USA. Country singer-songwriter Proctor spent most of the 90s working behind the scenes in Nashville before finally being given the chance to launch her own recording career in 2004. Proctor grew up in Charleston and participated in pop talent shows as a youngster, but by her late teens had begun to graduate towards country music. She began writing her own material and joined a country band, gaining experience playing on the local festival scene. At the same time Proctor was making frequent trips to Nashville in an attempt to obtain a publishing deal, and eventually ended up moving to the capital of country music. She formed a band with her husband Rob Byus and Blake Shelton but by the end of the decade was divorced and no further along in her attempts to gain a recording contract. Undaunted by the constant rejection Proctor continued to write songs and enjoyed a few minor successes when artists such as the Lynns and Sonya Isaacs began recording her compositions. She finally made her major breakthrough at the start of the new millennium when Martina McBride took ‘Where Would You Be’, composed by Proctor and Rick Ferrell, to the upper regions of the country charts. Unsurprisingly, Proctor was given a warmer reception by record labels and signed a solo recording contract with BNA Records, who had already rejected her twice previously. Where I Belong, a pleasant mainstream country album produced by Chris Lindsey, was released in 2004.
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