British singer Harry Fay performs "Follow The Sergeant," a rare WWI song by Fred Godfrey.
Fred Godfrey was prolific, writing many songs popular in Great Britain.
His heyday may have been the World War I era, with "Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty" (1916) and "Bless 'Em All" (1917) being especially popular. The word "Blighty" in the former song means "home."
But he published so many songs for such a long period (like Irving Berlin in the U.S.) that identifying Fred Godrey's heyday or most popular years is difficult.
Godrey's songs enjoyed great success before World War I, even in America (Ada Jones recorded "Now I Have To Call Him Father" in 1909), and Godrey songs were popular throughout the 1920s and into World War II.
The name "Fred Godrey" was really a pen name. He was born Llewellyn Williams
Godfrey was born on September 17, 1880, in Swansea, Wales.
He died on February 22, 1953, in London. The analogy with Irving Berlin--two songwriters who enjoyed great success for decades, their careers beginning and ending around the same time--may be helpful except we must allow for the fact that Berlin lived to a riper age.
Harry Fay "Follow The Sergeant" (1915) rare WWI tune, Fred Godfrey info BRITISH MUSIC HALL
