Fred Godfrey
Fred Godfrey (17 September 1880 – 22 February 1953) was the pen name of Llewellyn Williams, a World War I songwriter. He is best known for the songs "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1916) and "Bless 'Em All" (1917), which became a 1940s hit when recorded by George Formby and which can be found on many war films. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Swansea (city in Wales), Died February 22, 1953 (Pinner (area in the London Borough of Harrow, England, UK) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1908 - 1930
Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter, arranger, composer, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 66 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | B-6716 | 10-in. | 1/12/1909 | Now I have to call him Father | Ada Jones | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Victor | B-21055 | 10-in. | 11/6/1917 | Take me back to dear old Blighty | Gitz Rice | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Victor | BVE-59906 | 10-in. | 3/29/1930 | The toy town admiral | Gene and Glenn | Male vocal duet, with piano | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 4013 | 10-in. | between January and March 1909 | Now I have to call him Father | Stella Tobin | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 46293 | 10-in. | 12/20/1915 | Save your kisses till the boys come home | Charles Harrison ; Herbert Stuart | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 77391 | 10-in. | 10/1/1917 | Take me back to dear old Blighty | Arthur Fields | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | X54 | 10-in. | before 1916 | Don't go out with him to-night | Billy Williams | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 6261 | 12-in. | approximately 1912 | The adventurer | Robert Howe | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 6493 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Reminiscences of Gounod, part 1 | Band of the Grenadier Guards [U.K] | Band | arranger | |
| Columbia | 6494 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Reminiscences of Gounod, part 2 | Band of the Grenadier Guards [U.K] | Band | arranger | |
| Columbia | 26481 | 10-in. | approximately 1908 | Anywhere will do | Harry Fay | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 26722 | 10-in. | approximately 1909 | Come into the garden, John | Fred Mayne | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27409 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | Let’s have a song on the Graphophone | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27410 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | Here we are again | Billy Williams | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 27412 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | I’ll lend you my best girl | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27502 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | Don’t go out with him tonight | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27653 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | Take me back to the U.S.A. | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27654 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | I don’t care | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27656 | 10-in. | approximately 1911 | My lass from Glasgow toon | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27921 | 10-in. | approximately 1912 | I wish it was Sunday night | Billy Williams | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 27930 | 10-in. | approximately 1912 | Take me where there are no eyes about | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 27932 | 10-in. | approximately 1912 | All the silver from the silvery moon | Billy Williams | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 27933 | 10-in. | approximately 1912 | I never heard Father laugh so much before | Billy Williams | songwriter | ||
| Columbia | 28164 | 10-in. | 12/31/1912 | Where does Daddy go when he goes out? | Billy Williams | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 28165 | 10-in. | approximately 1912 | It’s a grand old song is Home, sweet home | Billy Williams | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Godfrey, Fred," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114458.
Godfrey, Fred. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114458.
"Godfrey, Fred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Godfrey, Fred, 1880-1953 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2008148179
Wikidata: Fred Godfrey - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5495274
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/58904823
MusicBrainz: Fred Godfrey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b3dd78d2-8ca3-42f0-90d9-7e4b7ff7610a
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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