Robert John DiPiero (born March 3, 1951) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter. He has written 15 US number one hits and several Top 20 single for

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

, Shenandoah,

Neal McCoy Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio. Although he first charted on ...

Highway 101 Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...

Restless Heart Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's members are Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), and Greg Je ...

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

Montgomery Gentry Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

Pam Tillis Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis and ex-wife of songwriter Bob DiPiero. Tillis recorded unsuccessful p ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

Bryan White Bryan Shelton White (born February 17, 1974) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's '' Between Now ...

Billy Currington William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), '' Doin' Someth ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

, Van Zant,

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

, and many others.

Early years

DiPiero was born in the steel-manufacturing center of Youngstown, Ohio. His family moved to the suburban township of

Liberty, Ohio Liberty is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History Liberty was plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Un ...

. DiPiero graduated from

Liberty High School (Ohio) Liberty High School is a public high school in Liberty Township, just north of Youngstown, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Liberty Local School District. Athletics Liberty High School has won state championships in the following sports ...

in 1969. He graduated from Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music. He participated in hard rock bands in northeastern Ohio throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1979, DiPiero moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. He worked as a session player and traveling musician, then moved into songwriting.

Songwriting career

DiPiero's first number one hit as a songwriter was 1983's "American Made" by

; it also became a national advertisements jingle for

Miller Beer The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the M ...

and

Baby Ruth Baby Ruth is an American candy bar made of peanuts, caramel, and milk chocolate-flavored nougat, covered in compound chocolate. It is distributed by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. History In 1920, the Curtiss Candy Comp ...

candybar. Since then, DiPiero co-wrote countless hit singles for other country music artists, with 15 of his songs reaching No. 1 on the country music charts. In 1995 and 1996, he received the Triple Play award from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

for three number one singles chart in each of those years. In addition, he has 36 awards from BMI for his contributions as a songwriter. He was also one third of the country music supergroup Billy Hill; members included

Dennis Robbins Dennis Anthony Robbins (born August 23, 1949) is an American musician who first made himself known as a guitarist in the band Rockets. After his departure from The Rockets, he began a career in country music, recording three major-label albums an ...

and

John Scott Sherrill John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his m ...

. He helped make Nashville a port-of-call for legendary performers from all genres, writing with Neil Diamond, Carole King, Johnny Van Zant, and Delbert McClinton, among many others. At one point, DiPiero was married to country music artist

, the daughter of singer

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

. The couple divorced. On June 18, 2006, he married music publisher, Leslie Tomasino. DiPiero launched a music industry-based reality series called "The Hitmen of Music Row" premiering September 26, 2007, on the

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

cable station. Songwriter participants in the series include

Tony Mullins Tony Mullins (born in Pound, Virginia) is an American country music songwriter. Mullins moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1992, where he worked with Byron Gallimore's publishing company. Among his first cuts was Kenny Chesney's "How Forever Feels ...

Jeffrey Steele Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit ...

, and

Craig Wiseman Craig Michael Wiseman is an American Country music songwriter and producer, and the owner/founder of the Big Loud enterprise. He has been writing since the late 1980s, and his songs have been recorded by Lorrie Morgan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, ...

Awards

*1984: Music City News Top Country Hit of the Year- "American Made-The Oak Ridge Boys" *1990: NSAI Award for Superior Creativity-"The Church On Cumberland Road-Shenandoah" *1993: NSAI Award for Superior Creativity-"Cleopatra, Queen of Denial-Pam Tillis" *1994: The Songwriters Guild Of America in recognition of the success of the hit song "Wink-Neal McCoy" *1994: NSAI Award for Superior Creativity-"Walking Away A Winner-

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...

" *1995: CMA Triple Play Award (Three No. 1 songs in a 12-month period) "Wink-

," "Take Me As I Am-

," Till You Love Me-

" *1995: BMI Robert J. Burton Award Most Performed Country Song of the Year-"Wink-

" *1996: CMA Triple Play Award (Three No. 1 songs in a 12-month period) "Blue Clear Sky-

," "Daddy's Money-

," "World's Apart-

" *1997: Country Music Radio Awards – Song of the Year ("Worlds Apart" by

) *1998: Nashville Music Awards – Songwriter of the Year *2000: Sony / A TV, Nashville – Songwriter of the Year. *2001: BMI 50 Most Performed Songs of the Year *2004: BMI 50 Most Performed Songs of the Year-"Cowboy's Like Us-

" "You Can't Take The Honky Tonk Out Of The Girl-

" *2005: BMI Most Performed Songs of the Year-"Gone-

," "If You Ever Stop Loving Me-

" *2006: BMI 50 Most Performed Songs of the Year-"She Don't Tell Me To-

" *2007: Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee *2007: Nashville Walk of Fame inductee *2010: 17 Million-Air Honors (BMI) *2017: BMI Icon

Singles written or co-written by Bob DiPiero

*1983 " American Made" –

*1983 " Sentimental Ol' You" –

Charly McClain Charlotte Denise "Charly" McClain (born March 26, 1956) is an American country music singer, best known for a string of hits during the 1980s. McClain's biggest hits include "Who's Cheatin' Who", " Sleepin' with the Radio On", and " Radio Heart" ...

*1986 " That Rock Won't Roll" –

*1986 "The First Of Me" -

*1986 "

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

" –

*1988 " (Do You Love Me) Just Say Yes" –

*1989 "No Chance To Dance" -

Johnny Rodriguez Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s an ...

*1989 "

The Church on Cumberland Road "The Church on Cumberland Road" is a song written by Bob DiPiero, John Scott Sherrill and Dennis Robbins, and recorded by American country music group Shenandoah. It was released in January 1989 as the second single from their album '' The Road ...

" – Shenandoah *1989 "Too Much Month at the End of the Money" - Billy Hill *1990 "Nickel To My Name" - Billy Hill *1990 "No Chance To Dance" - Billy Hill *1990 "Blue Angel" - Billy Hill *1992 " Anywhere but Here" –

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Kershaw (born February 24, 1958) is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the ...

*1992 " Blue Rose Is" –

*1992 " Mirror, Mirror" –

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was foun ...

*1992 "Home Sweet Home" -

*1992 "My Side Of Town" -

*1992 "Good News, Bad News" -

*1993 " Money in the Bank" –

*1993 " Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" –

*1994 " Kiss Me, I'm Gone" –

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...

*1994 " Take Me as I Am" –

*1994 "

Wink A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...

" –

*1994 " Till You Love Me" –

*1994 "

Walking Away a Winner ''Walking Away a Winner'' is the ninth studio album by American country music artist, Kathy Mattea. It was released on May 17, 1994 via the Mercury/ PolyGram labels and contained ten tracks of original material. The album's production featured a p ...

" –

*1995 " They're Playin' Our Song" –

*1995 "

Should've Asked Her Faster "Should've Asked Her Faster" is a debut song written by Bob DiPiero, Al Anderson and Joe Klimek, and recorded by American country music artist Ty England. It was released in May 1995 as the lead-off single from the eponymous ''Ty England'' album. ...

" –

Ty England Gary Tyrone England (born December 5, 1963) is an American country music singer and guitarist. Initially a member of Garth Brooks' band, England began his solo career in 1995, recording a self-titled debut album on RCA Records Nashville, RCA Na ...

*1996 "

Blue Clear Sky ''Blue Clear Sky'' is the sixteenth studio album released on April 23, 1996 by American country music artist George Strait. Certified 3× Multi-Platinum in the U.S. for sales of three million copies, the album produced four singles. The title t ...

" –

*1996 " It's Lonely Out There" –

*1996 "Love You Back" –

Rhett Akins Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for that label (1995's '' A Thousand Memories'' and 1996's '' Somebody New''), followed by ...

*1996 " Daddy's Money" –

*1996 "See Rock City" –

Rick Trevino Ricardo Treviño Jr. (born May 16, 1971) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Nashville in 1993, Trevino began his career that year with the release of his debut single "Just Enough Rope", the first mainstream country music sin ...

*1997 " Worlds Apart" –

*1998 "

Bad Day to Let You Go "Bad Day to Let You Go" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Bryan White. It was released in April 1998 as the third single from the album ''The Right Place''. The song reached No. 30 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Countr ...

" –

*1998 "Poor Me" –

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffie ...

*1998 "The Other Side of This Kiss" –

Mindy McCready Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's '' Ten Thousand Angels'', w ...

*1999 "Give My Heart to You" –

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

*1999 " Ordinary Love" –

Shane Minor Shane Allen Minor (born May 3, 1968) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 1999, Minor released his self-titled album that year, and it produced three hit singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & ...

*2000 " There You Are" –

*2000 " We're So Good Together" –

*2003 " Cowboys Like Us" –

*2003 "I'll Take Love Over Money" –

Aaron Tippin Aaron Dupree Tippin (born July 3, 1958) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, "You've Got to ...

*2003 "

You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl" is a song written by Bob DiPiero and Bart Allmand, and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in September 2003 as the second single from their album '' Red Dirt Road' ...

" –

*2003 "Too Much Month (At the End of the Money)" –

and His Fabulous Superlatives *2004 "

If You Ever Stop Loving Me "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" is a song by Bob DiPiero, Rivers Rutherford and Tom Shapiro and recorded by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released in February 2004 as the first single to the duo's 2004 album '' You Do Your Thin ...

" –

*2004 " The Girl's Gone Wild" –

*2005 " Gone" –

*2005 "Hillbilly Nation" – Cowboy Crush *2005 "So Good for So Long" –

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

(''

Feel This Free ''Feel This Free'' is the fourth studio album by Australian musical artist, Beccy Cole. It was released in April 2005 and peaked at number 66 on the ARIA Charts. Upon release, Cole told Susan Jarvis of Capital News "We really planned this album ...

'') *2005 " XXL" –

Keith Anderson Keith Anderson (born January 12, 1968) is an American country music artist. Before signing to a record deal, Anderson was one of several co-writers on "Beer Run (B Double E Double R-U-N)", a duet by Garth Brooks and George Jones, released in la ...

*2006 "Local Girls" –

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

*2006 " She Don't Tell Me To" –

*2006 "Tennessee Girl" –

*2009 "

Indian Summer An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...

" –

*2009 " Southern Voice" –

*2010 " From a Table Away" –

Sunny Sweeney Sunny Michaela Sweeney (born December 7, 1976) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is signed to the Thirty Tigers label. She was formerly with the Republic Nashville label and Big Machine Records. Her debut album, ''Heartbrea ...

*2012 " Lovin' You Is Fun" –

Easton Corbin Dan Easton Corbin (born April 12, 1982) is an American country music singer. He signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2009 and released his self-titled debut album in March 2010, featuring the two number-one hits " A Little More Country Than Th ...

*2012 "It's My Life" –

Connie Britton Constance Elaine Britton ( Womack; born March 6, 1967) is an American actress. Britton made her feature film debut in the independent comedy-drama film ''The Brothers McMullen'' (1995), and the following year, she was cast as Nikki Faber on the ...

*2014 "

Drunk Americans "Drunk Americans" is a song written by Brandy Clark, Bob DiPiero and Shane McAnally and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in October 2014 as the first single from his album ''35 MPH Town''. Content The song cel ...

" -

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

*2014 "Headlights" –

*2015 " Boys Like You" – Who Is Fancy featuring

Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...

and

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

*2018 "Tacoma" cowritten with Caitlin Smith, also performed by Garth Brooks *2020 "Me About Me" – RaeLynn

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dipiero, Bob American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters Living people Writers from Youngstown, Ohio 1951 births Country musicians from Ohio American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Ohio