Biography

Arthur Godfrey may not look or sound like your typical singer songwriter. The stocky build combined with a heavy Boston accent could lead you to associate him with any number of occupations involving hard-hats, work boots or power tools. But take one listen to his gritty songs about life and surviving, and you’ll recognize the soul of a poet.

The world at large is beginning to discover Godfrey’s talents. He’s won the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest twice, been featured on the Americana Music Association’s 2004 compilation CD alongside artists like Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams, and has performed for stars like Sean Penn and Al Pacino. We caught up with Godfrey to explore his success and find out how he’s managed to come so far.

Like many performers, Godfrey became interested in music from an early age, singing in school choirs and playing in bands in college. But then life and responsibilities caught up with him. “I had my first of three daughters when I was 23,” he says. “I had to shelve my musical goals and work a steady job [with the US Postal Service] to support my family.”

Twenty-five years and one divorce later, Godfrey took a postmaster’s job on the coast of Maine . With his daughters all grown, he was ready to focus his life on music. “I committed myself to songwriting and playing out live,” he says.

In 2000 Godfrey transferred to Santa Cruz , Calif. “ Santa Cruz has a strong Americana community, and a very hip radio station called KPIG,” says Godfrey. “I had one CD at the time and I sent it to the station. They invited me to play live, and I got a strong response.” Godfrey also impressed DJ Dave Nielson, who owned a recording studio. “He asked me over and six months later we’d recorded my first professional CD, East Side Of Town.”

In 2001 Godfrey entered his song “Simple Man” in the John Lennon contest, and won the grand prize in the folk category. Winning that contest boosted his career and morale. “I'm not a song contest junkie, but winning this was one of my personal goals,” he says. The awards presentation that year was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland , Ohio . “All the grand prize winners got to perform their songs,” says Godfrey. “It was a cool personal moment to play on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stage.”

Godfrey won the John Lennon contest again in 2003 with his song, “Amen.”  “Winning that contest is like joining a family,” says Godfrey. “They are in this for all the right reasons. They help with press, and have made it a point to call me to perform with the [John Lennon Educational] Bus.” The bus, a mobile recording studio that travels to schools, encourages students to get involved in music. Godfrey has performed with the bus in California, Tennessee and his hometown of Boston. “The bus will stay a day or two [at each school] and let the kids tour it and get an understanding of how music is recorded,” he says. “The coolest thing the staff does is record the kids [performing] and give them the CD and video … They all get to be rock stars.”

When he’s not helping kids pretend to be stars, Godfrey hangs out with the real deal through his friend Sean Penn. Godfrey met Penn in 2002, at a gig in Memphis , Tenn. “I started my set and Sean walked in and took a table,” Godfrey recalls. Penn was so impressed by Godfrey’s music that he drove to Nashville to catch another show. “We've been friends ever since,” says Godfrey. “He's been cool enough to set up shows for me, like in New York this past summer when I played for folks like Al Pacino, Sean Lennon, Tim Robbins and others.” Godfrey says that the best part of his friendship with Penn is getting to spend time with Penn and his family, and talk about music and writing. “It brings validation,” says Godfrey. “It's support like his that keeps you fighting in the ring.”  

Godfrey quit the Post Office last year and currently lives in Nashville , where he has just released his fifth CD, Amen. The CD, a collection of unadorned, real-life stories, sung with Godfrey’s working-man vocals and bluesy acoustic guitar, is out on his own label, Stampman Records. The songs range in subject matter from Godfrey’s divorce, to his daughter’s wedding, to child abuse. “It’s my own urban Americana ,” says Godfrey. The powerful “It’s All Part of the Story” is written from the point of view of a sexually abused child. “It’s dangerous subject matter,” says Godfrey. “It gets very emotional at times.” Acoustic guitar and faint Hammond organ are the sole accompaniment as Godfrey gruffly whispers: “I’m much too weak to fight this fight / I lie in wait, please not tonight.”

Despite Godfrey’s success and hobnobbing with stars, he still believes everything comes down to the strength of a song. “The songs have to speak for themselves,” he says. “A singer songwriter has to have songs that folks want to hear, or you’re dead before you start.”


By Mare Wakefield
From DIY Salute, PERFORMING SONGWRITER MAGAZINE,  July-August 2005 Issue

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