Broadcast Music, Inc.®, (BMI®), the global leader in music rights management, will celebrate the extraordinary career of Bob DiPiero by naming him a BMI Icon at the 65th annual BMI Country Awards. DiPiero will receive this honor in recognition of his unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers over the past 38 years. The event will be held Tuesday, November 7th at BMI’s Nashville office and will be hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill and Jody Williams, BMI Vice President, Creative, Nashville.The BMI Icon Award is presented to songwriters who have distinctly and profoundly influenced the music industry. In receiving the award, DiPiero will join an impressive list of Country music’s greatest songwriters including previous recipients Mac Davis, Vince Gill, Hank Williams, Jr., Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Charlie Daniels, Bill Anderson, Kris Kristofferson and more.
“Since the early 80’s Bob DiPiero, and his songs, have been a consistent and potent influence on country music,” said Williams. “He is a quintessential professional whose work ethic is matched only by his love of life, his fellow songwriters, and his beautiful wife Leslie. He’s a mentor, a friend, and world-class songwriter. He’s the embodiment of a BMI Icon.”
BMI will also present multiple GRAMMY, CMA and CMT Award-winning singer-songwriter Keith Urban with the BMI Champion Award. He will receive this honor for his work in supporting the next generation of songwriters and music makers, as well as his tireless commitment to numerous music education programs such as the CMA Foundation, the Grammy Foundation, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Fund, MusiCares and more. Urban’s “All For The Hall” benefit concerts have raised over $2.6 million for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and since 2013, the proceeds from his new URBAN™ Guitar Collection have benefited both the Grammy Foundation and Mr. Holland’s Opus Fund.
“Not only is Keith Urban one of the most talented and prolific songwriters in the industry, but he’s also a true humanitarian,” said Williams. “The BMI Champion Award recognizes his contributions to the music community and his tireless efforts to bring attention to important causes that directly affect the next generation of songwriters.”
Throughout the evening, the private event will also salute the songwriters, publishers and administrators of the past year’s most-performed country songs in the United States from BMI’s repertoire of nearly 13 million musical works. The BMI Country Song, Songwriter and Publisher of the Year will also be named during the ceremony.
Bob DiPiero
Since first moving to Nashville in 1978, Bob DiPiero has been responsible for an uninterrupted string of country music hits. He’s written over 1,000 songs that have been recorded by top country artists beginning with his very first cut, which he penned himself, “I Can See Forever In Your Eyes” by Reba McEntire. His first number one came in 1983 with “American Made,” by The Oak Ridge Boys. The song later became a national ad jingle for Miller Beer, as well Baby Ruth candy bars. Since then, DiPiero has received many accolades including 50 BMI MillionAir Awards for his country radio staples such as “American Made” (Oak Ridge Boys),”Gone” (Montgomery Gentry), “Worlds Apart” (Vince Gill), “The Church On Cumberland Road” (Shenandoah), “Daddy’s Money” (Ricochet), “Blue Clear Sky” (George Strait), “You Can’t Take the Honky Tonk Out Of the Girl” (Brooks & Dunn), “There You Are” (Martina McBride) and “Southern Voice” (Tim McGraw).
Other major awards include two CMA Triple Play awards in 1995 and 1996, a BMI Country Song of the Year in 1995 for “Wink” performed by Neal McCoy and a Country Radio Music Award for Song of the Year in 1997 for “Worlds Apart” performed by Vince Gill. In 1998, DiPiero was named Songwriter of the Year at the Nashville Music Awards and in 2007 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Nashville’s Walk of Fame. The Country Music Hall of Fame honored him with their prestigious “Poets and Prophets Series: Salute to Legendary Songwriter Bob DiPiero” in 2014. That same year, the Country Music Association presented DiPiero with the CMA Chairman’s Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the music industry and songwriting community.
Keith Urban’s reputation as a premier songwriter, vocalist, musician and virtuoso guitarist has afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with the likes of The Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Miranda Lambert, John Mellencamp, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift, Vince Gill and Eric Church, to name a few. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s earned four Grammy Awards, ten Country Music Association Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music Awards, an American Music Award, a People’s Choice, and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Urban is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry and remains the only Country artist to have ever served as a judge on American Idol.
ABOUT BMI:
Celebrating over 77 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in nearly 13 million musical works created and owned by more than 800,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every Monday to stay up to date on all things music.
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