DiPiero, other songwriters on ‘Hitmen of Music Row’
The songwriter graduated from Liberty High School in 1969.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Bob DiPiero is a character.
The Youngstown native and Youngstown State University graduate, who cut his teeth in the Northeast Ohio 1970s rock scene, has become one of Nashville’s most-sought-after songwriters.
His résumé includes crafting 14 No. 1 hits recorded by the likes of Reba McEntire (“’Till You Love Me”), George Strait (“Clear Blue Sky”), Montgomery Gentry (“If You Ever Stop Loving Me”), Faith Hill (“Take Me As I Am”), Vince Gill (“Worlds Apart”) and more. However, his most recent project is the new music industry-based reality series “The Hitmen of Music Row,” which premieres at 8 p.m. Wednesday on the Great American Country cable station.
Joining DiPiero in the fun are his brethren in songwriting Tony Mullins, Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman. Combined, the quartet boasts an amazing 38 No. 1 hits.
“I am a world-famous songwriter, which means you don’t know who in the hell I am,” said DiPiero, calling from his home in the Florida panhandle (or what he refers to as the redneck Riviera). “That’s just the truth of it, but people like Montgomery Gentry and Brooks & Dunn know who I am. They’re my fans.
“So we just thought it would be interesting to show people that there’s this group of guys who makes their living writing songs just like there’s these guys who float out in the ocean catching crabs.”
Making comparison
Make no mistake, DiPiero is truly comparing “The Hitmen of Music Row” to the Discovery Channel’s reality series “Deadliest Catch.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” said DiPiero, who graduated from Liberty High School in 1969. “You have no idea how dangerous it is to be a songwriter. There’s a lot of hidden dangers.”
Perhaps the most obvious danger is that of starvation because at any given time DiPiero estimates there are tens of thousands of hopeful songwriters pitching Music Row executives with demo CD after demo CD.
It’s been nearly 30 years since DiPiero arrived in Nashville searching for stardom as just another talented player coming to the Mecca of country music. It was an unlikely if not unexpected journey for DiPiero, who received his start as a member of numerous Northeast Ohio bands.
“I grew up in what I like to call the golden age of Youngstown rock ’n’ roll,” DiPiero said. “From 1966 to 1976, there was an amazing number of fantastic rock ’n’ roll bands and because of the steel mills, there were all of these bars people would go to after they got off work. So there was this whole circuit of places you could play, from Cleveland to Youngstown to Pittsburgh, that kind of fed this rock ’n’ roll machine.
“I grew up going to see Bob Seger at this place in Youngstown called The Freak Out. I grew up going to see Joe Walsh and the James Gang, MC5. I played in a band [Mojo] that was the house band at the Tomorrow Club. And during this point in time, we played with everybody, from the Mahavishnu Orchestra to Boston.”
Upon arriving in Nashville, DiPiero originally found work as a session player and touring musician.
Finding his niche
“As time went on, it seemed to me my biggest talent was writing songs,” DiPiero said. “That’s what people were responding to. So that’s what I followed and yeah, it’s nice to have people love you and come to see you, but it’s also nice to get what we call mailbox money.
“You just sit at home and these big checks come in and they’re for songs you just made up one day. It’s a pretty fantastical lifestyle and it’s not lost on me that those of us who are fortunate enough to do it, are just that: fortunate.”
Therein lies the sales pitch for “The Hitmen of Music Row,” which will allow country music fans the opportunity to put the songwriter’s face to their favorite song.
“It’s kind of a hillbilly ‘Seinfeld,’” DiPiero said. “It’s a show about nothing. People when they turn in to see ‘The Hitmen of Music Row,’ they’re not going to see a bunch of guys in a room trying to rhyme you with blue, new or dew. It’s really about what happens before we write the song.”
For all intent and purpose, that process is just plain old living, as the four songwriters hit New York City, Las Vegas and Atlanta with cameras rolling.
“We just live our lives, and hopefully people will get a window as to what it means to be a songwriter,” DiPiero said. “I never considered what it was like to catch an Alaskan king crab. I just ate them. I’ve got a lot more respect for what’s on my plate these days after seeing that show. And you get into their lives and just like their lives, we hope people will enjoy getting into our lives.
“They’re going to see stars on the show, people like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. They’re kind of like our fans. Hopefully, people will be entertained and enlightened.”