Janet Godfrey is a British songwriter, known for being the first wife and occasional writing partner of

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of Rock music, rock band Cream (band), Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a ...

Early career

Godfrey was the secretary of the fan club for

the Graham Bond Organisation The Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) were a British blues/blues rock group of the mid-1960s consisting of Graham Bond (vocals, keyboards, alto-saxophone), Jack Bruce (bass), Ginger Baker (drums), Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor/soprano saxophone) a ...

, a band that had started in 1963, with

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

on drums.

was the bassist in the band, and Godfrey teamed with Bruce to write "Baby Make Love To Me" and "Baby Be Good To Me". Godfrey and Bruce were engaged to be married when

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

asked Bruce to join him in the US. Bruce declined because of his upcoming marriage. Following this, Bruce and Baker fought on stage, and Bruce left the Bond group. He gigged with

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were an English blues rock band led by multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter John Mayall. The band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues musicians. Many of the best known bands t ...

for a bit and then joined

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

, a more successful group named after its organist. Bruce made this switch so that he could purchase a home for Godfrey and himself.

Writing partnership

During Bruce's tenure with

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

, Godfrey co-wrote two songs that were included on their debut album ''

Fresh Cream ''Fresh Cream'' is the debut studio album by the British rock band Cream, consisting of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. A mix of blues covers and originals, the album was a pivotal release in the history o ...

''. She wrote "Sleepy Time Time" with her husband, and "Sweet Wine" with drummer Ginger Baker. Of the writing partnership, Bruce later remarked "Ginger and Pete yricist Pete Brown">Pete_Brown.html" ;"title="yricist Pete Brown">yricist Pete Brown/nowiki> were at my flat trying to work on a song but it wasn't happening. My wife Janet then got with Ginger and they wrote "Sweet Wine" while I started working with Pete." "Sweet Wine" has since become one of the most widely recognized songs in Cream's repertoire and has remained a fan favourite, as evidenced by its inclusion on numerous compilation albums.

also performed both of Godfrey's co-compositions at their 2005 reunion concerts at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. After the breakup of Cream, Godfrey and Bruce, together with Pete Brown, also co-wrote the songs "Morning Story" for Bruce's 1971 album ''Harmony Row'' and "Running Through our Hands" for his 1974 album ''Out Of The Storm''.

Personal life

During their marriage, Godfrey and Jack Bruce had two sons, Jonas (Jo) (1969–1997) and Malcolm (b. 1970), both of whom grew up as members of their father's band. Jonas, primarily a keyboard player, was a core member of

Afro Celt Sound System Afro Celt Sound System are a European and African group who fuse electronic music with traditional Gaelic and West African music. Afro Celt Sound System was formed in 1995 by producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and feature a wide range of guest ...

until 8 October 1997 when he died suddenly from an asthma attack. Malcolm is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter who has performed and recorded with many well-known musicians and bands, including Ginger Baker's son, Kofi.

References

External links

Photos of Godfrey, Bruce and Jonas
pictured with

Felix Pappalardi Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass violin, bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain (band), Mountain, whose ...

and his wife

Gail Gail may refer to: People * Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Janet Living people British women songwriters Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)

Early career

Writing partnership

Personal life

See also

References

External links