Gunnedah musician Rex Baldwin is celebrating 50 years in the country music spotlight.
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The bush balladeer has country running through his veins after growing up on the land, with a drover father. A cowboy at heart, Rex pursued other interests before a dare at school saw him on stage with a guitar.
“It then became a challenge for me to learn [guitar]. I was 13 at the time – by 16 I had learnt a few chords and at the time Gunnedah had a country music group running with fellows like Bob Hobson senior and junior, Lindsay Bush, Col Rollings and others. I learned by watching other people,” Rex said.
Rex showed promise and was encouraged to attend the Capital Country Music Association (CCMA) in Tamworth.
“Geoff Brown started off as one of the principals of the CCMA, with the late John Minson, who were two of my greatest influences. The first song I sang was Silver Spurs by Slim Dusty. From there, I would go as often as I could, they helped me tremendously,” Rex said.
“As time went on, I learnt more chords and formed a band ‘Mountain Blues’, which I was a part of for 34 years and we played in nearly every town in the New England North West.”
After recording a cassette album in 1983, which was later released in 1989, Rex gave the music away. A stop by the Oasis Hotel in Nemingha one night saw him encouraged to pick up the guitar once again. He went on play a live concert in Tamworth in 1996 which was made into a video, released Memories in 2014, Forever Friends in 2015 and Welcome Back in 2016.
He won the new talent at the Stan Coster Memorial Gidgee Coal Awards in 2014 and the Bungendore festival. He also won the first ever award for bush ballads in the Independent Brumby Awards, and a people’s choice in the Golden Guitars in 2015. His partner of 13 years, Valerie Williamson is by his side playing bass guitar and co-writing songs.
Rex’s latest project is the Gunnedah Country Music Muster, which is held this week at the Gunnedah Showground.