Vicky McGehee

By Elisabeth Dawson

Oct 15 2006

Songwriter Vicky McGehee didn’t grow up dreaming of the spotlight. Or even backstage. In fact, the hit songwriter says she “never even thought of being a songwriter. This whole thing is kind of a fluke.”

This fluke implied fate. McGehee, an Oklahoma native, did not grow up in a musical family. “I grew up around country music, but I never thought of writing it,” she admits, and then adds, laughing, “To this day, my parents ask me, ‘Have you sold any songs this week?’ They think that’s how it works.”

Vicky had been working in Nashville’s entertainment law community for seven years when destiny knocked on her door. “I exchanged some contract work for a demo session,” she recalls. “It wasn’t anything serious, just some of my songs I’d messed around with, poetry just for me. To this day, I don’t know really how all of this has happened. It makes you wonder about how many people have a gift — a calling — that they’re not exploring.” McGehee reflects, “I started late; I’m not 20. I’m so grateful for everything I get.”

Vicky McGehee earns everything she gets. Songs like Gretchen Wilson’s “All Jacked Up,” Big & Rich’s “Holy Water” and Jason Aldean’s “Why” all feature McGehee’s candid touch. “Writing songs is personal. I keep about five writers really close to me,” she shares. “Reaching the top is not an easy climb. Now I just try to keep it between the lines.”

With a Grammy for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s “Like We Never Loved at All,” and 2005’s Music Row Songwriter of the Year title firmly under her belt, Vicky’s fluke is anything but. Yet, the songwriter remains modestly in awe of it all. “Success just means when you call, you don’t have to wait as long for a call back,” McGehee laughs.