Ben Selvin
Benjamin Bernard Selvin (March 5, 1898 – July 15, 1980) was an American musician, bandleader, and record producer. He was known as the Dean of Recorded Music. Selvin was born in New York City, United States, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants. He started his professional life at age 15 as a fiddle player in New York City night clubs. Six years later, as leader of his own dance band, the Novelty Orchestra, he released what was later alleged to be the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. "Dardanella" allegedly sold more than six million copies and an additional million pieces of sheet music—although in a joint interview with Gustave Haenschen, founding director of popular-music releases at Brunswick Records, Selvin described the alleged record-sales total as “nonsensical” and said the actual sales of “Dardanella” and other purported “million-sellers” in the 1920s was 150,000 discs. He was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) that was presented to Selvin on his retirement on March 14, 1963. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, Selvin recorded more musical sides (on 78-rpm discs) than any other person. One reason for this prolific output is that he recorded for dozens of different record labels during this productive time in the industry, using a different name for each label. His output has been estimated at 13,000 to 20,000 song titles. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 5, 1898 (New York City), Died July 15, 1980 (Manhasset)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1919 - 1942
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, violin, vocalist, songwriter, composer, lyricist, arranger
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 326-350 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 147070 | 10-in. | 9/26/1928 | Motherhood | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147094 | 10-in. | 10/2/1928 | Moon of my delight | Musical Comedy Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147095 | 10-in. | 10/2/1928 | I must love you | Musical Comedy Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147096 | 10-in. | 10/2/1928 | Happy days and lonely nights | Jerry Mason and his Californians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Marvin Young [Irving Kaufman] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147109 | 10-in. | 10/5/1928 | It goes like this (That funny melody) | Happy Martin | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quartet | instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | 147125 | 10-in. | 10/17/1928 | I wanna be loved by you | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147126 | 10-in. | 10/17/1928 | Here's that party now in person | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147127 | 10-in. | 10/17/1928 | Forever | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147131 | 10-in. | 10/11/1928 | Just a sweetheart | Jerry Mason and his Californians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Marvin Young [Irving Kaufman] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147140 | 10-in. | 10/19/1928 | You're the cream in my coffee | Broadway Nitelites | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147141 | 10-in. | 10/19/1928 | Billie | Eddie Thomas' Collegians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147144 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | I loved you then as I love you now | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147145 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | If you want the rainbow | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147146 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | Pompanola | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147147 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | My silver tree | Broadway Nitelites | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | [W]147153 | 10-in. | 10/19/1928 | If you want the rainbow (You must have the rain) | Gay Ellis and her Novelty Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | [W]147154 | 10-in. | 10/19/1928 | My blackbirds are bluebirds now | Gay Ellis and her Novelty Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | 147155 | 10-in. | 10/24/1928 | Marion | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147156 | 10-in. | 10/24/1928 | Gypsy | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147157 | 10-in. | 10/24/1928 | Sally of my dreams | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147162 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | Sweet dreams | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147163 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | Pompanola | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147164 | 10-in. | 10/29/1928 | Won't you tell me, hon (When we're gonna be one) | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tom Frawley | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147171 | 10-in. | 10/31/1928 | That's why girls go wrong | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147172 | 10-in. | 10/31/1928 | Are we downhearted? No! | Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Selvin, Ben, 1898-1980 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98080176
Wikidata: Ben Selvin - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q304517
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/54338200
MusicBrainz: Ben Selvin - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/84733717-7fa8-43da-a6aa-259fa1f36eb0
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