Of all the ways to measure success, longevity is high on the list.

For others, success is leaving your corner of the world better than you found it.

After 40 years in Nashville - writing some of the biggest country hits of an entire generation - you could say Bob DiPiero accomplished both.

"I've had a number one song each of the last four decades," DiPiero says. "I like to help people who need help."

As he has for the last 10 years, DiPiero came home to Youngstown Friday - two successful songwriter friends Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr in tow - to play their songs to benefit Compass' Sojourner House.
It's a place of recovery and refuge for domestic violence victims. Premier Bank presented a $10,000 check to the nonprofit.

"My good high school buddy was involved with Compass and Sojourner House...and he was talking about the challenges they had, and money is always a challenge...so I said 'why don't we do a songwriters show like I do all over the country?'" said DiPiero.

"Without this fundraiser and without Bob and bringing his friends here, we would never be able to do the things we do at Sojourner House," says Compass Family & Community Services president and CEO Joe Caruso.

While the decision to help this cause was easy for DiPiero, the success he's attained wasn't at first.
His pen eventually fashioned hits like "American Made" for the Oak Ridge Boys, "Take Me as I Am" for Faith Hill, and "Blue Clear Sky" for George Strait.

As more hits followed over the years, DiPiero says he still wants what he wanted way back when.

"I want to write songs that aren't just a song for that moment, but will be a song for every moment," he said. "I just wanted to matter."

Between a legendary songwriting career and helping so many along the way, it's safe to say the man who walked the halls of Liberty High School as "Bobby D" has accomplished all that and more.

"It's been well worth it, it's a labor of love," he said. "What better place to do it than my hometown of Youngstown, Ohio?"

If you missed Friday's show and would like to donate to Sojourner House, you can contact 330-747-4040.