MATT BAKER
THE COUNTRYFILE PRESENTER GOES BEHIND THE SCENES ON HIS SHOWS AND FAMILY FARM
From a rural childhood to The One Show, country music has been my soundtrack.
FROM RURAL ROOTS TO COUNTRY MUSIC
For as long as I can remember, my dad has had guitars hanging on the wall. He taught me how to play a few chords when I was growing up and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I love the concept of country music, the stories rooted in the landscape and the things that have been happening while working out in the wilds. Because I grew up on a farm, it was the kind of music that appealed to me and every time I jumped in a truck there was always a country cassette blaring out.
I would learn songs from the likes of Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell and Don McLean and I played them mostly by ear, because, as a dyslexic, I find it hard to read music.
For years, my dad and I would look at guitars in the windows of music shops all over the North East. With my very first pay packet from Blue Peter, I bought my dad his dream guitar – a vintage Gibson 335 Sunburst,
“Every time I jumped in a truck, there was always a country cassette blaring out”
the kind that BB King used to play. A love of guitars runs in the family, as my son now plays better that both me and my dad, making good use of the ever-growing family guitar collection.
MUSICAL MEETINGS
My television work has led to an incredible number of inspiring musical experiences. I have met the biggest names in the world of country music, from Dolly Parton to the late Glen Campbell, Taylor Swift and Don McLean, who my dad came in to see when Don appeared on the show. Dad arrived with an acoustic guitar and a sharpie and Don very kindly signed it for him!
Unsurprisingly, both Dad and I wanted to visit the country music Mecca that is Nashville, so, for my dad’s 70th birthday, I surprised him with a trip there. We had the best time visiting all the iconic venues, studios and stages, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Ryman Auditorium.
We went everywhere! We got to see the houses of all those greats that I have had the privilege to chat to. All arranged by Bob Harris’s music producer, the generous Mark Hagen.
These days I have a piano at home, which I also love to play. Having finished The One Show, I find that I am spending more and more time sitting at the piano in the evening, playing random songs and improvising to the faces of all those fabulous musicians that I’ve met over the years, who have been kind enough to sign a photo for me. They all sit framed on the top of my piano, watching me as I indulge in my hobby of songwriting, inspired by them and the landscape that has always been so special to me.