Bill Dellaportas is no stranger to Neos Kosmos.
The Greek-Australian songwriter has been mentioned in our paper before, namely in 2003 when he wrote a song about a then five year old Tess Davies, who had been diagnosed with Perthes disease.
Mr Dellaportas was moved by young Tess’ battle with the degenerative disease, and teamed up with music producer Phil Turico (Hey, Hey, it’s Saturday) and Kodak to put together a song and CD, back when the disks reigned supreme. The proceeds from the CD sales were donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal.
“It is a song which I truly hold close at heart, a song that bought a smile to Tess and her family at the time when Tess was dealing with the disease. It received recognition all over Melbourne and more importantly touched the hearts of Tess Davies and her family . At the time we raised seven thousand dollars,” he told Neos Kosmos.
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“I have learnt so much from Phil Turcio over the last 20 years and am forever grateful. I’m truly so blessed to have given that opportunity to work and co-write alongside such an artist.”
One year short of the song’s 20th anniversary, Mr Dellaportas has continued putting his creative energy out into the world. His work has been recognised out of thousands of entries and landed him on the top 50 shortlist for the Australian Songwriters Association’s (ASA) Australian songwriting competition.
“My biggest inspiration derives from my family and friends. I have have come to realise how important family and friends are to the road of love and happiness,” he said.
His loved ones are not the only people who give him pearls of wisdom. The music industry is often rife with suspicious characters, often on the lookout to exploit those just hoping to turn dreams into reality. Thankfully, at a grassroots level, Mr Dellaportas has come across some diamonds in the rough.
“Four singers that I have had the pleasure to work with on my demo music projects in the past are Judd Field, Steve Wade, Jimmy Christo and Rod Davies. For me it’s been nothing less than a dream come true. These four singers brought out exactly what I wanted to capture in my songs, which is nothing but heartfelt emotion,” he said.
“They made me see that when you believe in yourself there are no bounds to what you can achieve and what’s in your heart is what’s right for you.”
Mr Dellaportas could not have landed on the ASA’s top 50 shortlist with just pure luck. Practice truly makes perfect, and his countless hours honing his craft have helped bring his melodic ideas into fruition.
“I recall writing even a teenager in my high school classes. As the teacher would conduct her class, I would look out the window and then start writing down lyrics for songs. Songwriting has been a childhood dream of mine,” he said.
“It’s something that’s always run through my veins, something I hold close to my heart. This form of expression, being able to put down on paper feelings, emotions, thoughts, dreams, or simply what I see in the world around me.”
Mr Dellaportas views the process of songwriting much like piecing together a “jigsaw puzzle’, finding the perfect piece the fits to create something beautiful.
“I love when the story line to the song comes together, similar to a jigsaw puzzle where each verse comes into place to match up with the chorus. A song tells a story, we are painting a picture for our audience of what the song is about,” Mr Dellaportas explained.
As Mr Dellaportas eagerly awaits to hear if he managed to snag an award at the ASA’s songwriting competition, announced in February, he hopes his path to songwriting inspires others to go after their greatest hopes.
“My only advice I can give to anyone is that if you strongly believe in something, reach out for it. Never let your dreams pass you by.”