Howes Lubricator selected truck driver Frank DiBartolo, 40, of Erlanger, Ky., as the winner of its annual songwriting contest. Eric Harley made the announcement in August on the Midnight Cowboy Radio Show, a co-sponsor of the contest.
DiBartolo’s winning entry was a song titled “Comin’ on Home to You.” It was the unanimous choice of the judges.
“When I entered the contest, I just threw it into God’s hands,” DiBartolo said. “I wrote the song about my wife and kids. It was something I really believed in. I was surprised when I won, but really more happy than shocked.”
DiBartolo, a company driver for Wooster Motor Ways of Wooster, Ohio, and his wife Randi won an all-expenses-paid trip to Nashville, Tenn., in October, where they stayed at the Opryland Hotel and attended the 75th anniversary celebration of the Grand Ole Opry.
Bruce Howes, chairman of Howes Lubricator, also arranged for DiBartolo to have the winning song recorded with professional musicians – including guitarist Brent Mason, who works with country artists like Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn – at Music City’s Sound Control Studios. “It was great,” said DiBartolo, who has previously recorded six other original songs. “Mark Moseley [digital audio engineer] finished the cut in one day and had seven copies of the CD delivered to us that night at the Opryland Hotel.”
The experience has DiBartolo, a horse enthusiast and part-time photographer, dreaming of a future in the entertainment industry. “I’d love to break into songwriting or performing,” he said. “That’s my goal and desire.”
