Charles Godfrey Widdén [1] (1874-1933) [2] was a Swedish-born singer and comedian, who performed regularly in Worcester, Massachusetts, and New York City during the years 1900 - 1920 and achieved national prominence through his numerous recordings.

Government and business records indicate that he was at different times a laborer, packer, machinist, foreman, wire tester and sign painter.

[6] As a young man Widdén began performing as a storyteller, juggler and chalk talker, [7] and by 1900 he was a highly regarded bondkomiker (rustic comic).

His companions gave exhibitions of wrestling and weight lifting while Widdén demonstrated his talent for juggling and comedy.

[10] He appeared at many types of events: choral concerts, theatrical productions, dances, bazaars, picnics and even wrestling matches — occasionally with fellow comedian Calle Sjöquist.

[3] The San Francisco weekly Vestkusten published word of his death in 1933: "Charles G. Widdén passed away on October 9th at Druskin Hospital in New York City at the age of fifty-nine.

[15] The poetry included several works by the Swedish author Gustaf Fröding,[18] whose lyrics and stories — popular on both sides of the Atlantic — were a staple of rustic humor.

Widdén recorded Fröding's poems concerning the supernatural: Bergslagstroll (Mountain trolls) and Skögsrån (The wood sprite) as well as those dealing with immigration to America: Farväll (Farewell) and I bönhuset (At the prayer meeting).

[15] J. L. Runeberg's poems of patriotic Finns were also represented: Soldatgossen (The soldier boy) and Sven Duva (a hero of the 1808-1809 war against Russia).

Most notably Widdén recorded Kostervalsen (The waltz on Koster isle) and seventeen other numbers by Göran Svenning and David Hellström.

He also covered songs by Lars Bondeson, Axel Engdahl, Adolf Englund, Gustaf Fröding, Skånska Lasse, Emil Norlander, Theodor Pinet and Ernst Rolf.

Although not inherently racist, the Berlin composition was considered a Coon song because of the affected manner in which it was sung by White artists.

In 2011 the Library of Congress opened its National Jukebox web site with streaming audio for eighteen of Widdén's songs and stories.

In conjunction with the festival she recorded three albums of folk tunes, emigrant ballads, hymns, waltzes and comic songs.

Three of their songs — ones that Widdén had also recorded — were released by the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research on the 1981 LP "From Sweden to America".

Recorded in Sweden and the United States between 1917 and 1980, the collection had numbers by Olle i Skratthult, Olga Lindgren, Ragnar Hasselgren and Anne-Charlotte Harvey as well.