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 401-425 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | W147964 | 10-in. | 2/13/1929 | Broadway melody | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147965 | 10-in. | 2/13/1929 | He, she, and me | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | [W]147976 | 10-in. | 2/20/1929 | Mean to me | Gay Ellis and her Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | 148002 | 10-in. | 2/27/1929 | Fioretta | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148003 | 10-in. | 2/27/1929 | Dream boat | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148004 | 10-in. | 2/27/1929 | Some sweet day | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W148039 | 10-in. | 3/7/1929 | Sweet Suzanne | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W148040 | 10-in. | 3/7/1929 | Lady divine | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148070 | 10-in. | 3/14/1929 | I'll tell the world (You're all the world to me) | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148071 | 10-in. | 3/14/1929 | On the Alamo | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148072 | 10-in. | 3/14/1929 | The one that I love loves me | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W148111 | 10-in. | 3/21/1929 | Nobody's fault but your own | The Knickerbockers ; Eddie Walters | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W148112 | 10-in. | 3/21/1929 | An eye-ful of you | The Knickerbockers ; Eddie Walters | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148153 | 10-in. | 4/1/1929 | Nobody's fault but your own | Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tom Frawley | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148154 | 10-in. | 4/1/1929 | I'll see you thru' | Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tom Frawley | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148155 | 10-in. | 4/1/1929 | I kiss your hand, Madame | Irving Kaufman ; Perley Stevens and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148160 | 10-in. | 4/2/1929 | Coquette | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148161 | 10-in. | 4/2/1929 | Just an old love affair | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148162 | 10-in. | 4/2/1929 | Blue Hawaii | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Marvin Young [Irving Kaufman] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W148166 | 10-in. | 4/3/1929 | Underneath the Russian moon | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W148167 | 10-in. | 4/3/1929 | Bye and bye, sweetheart | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148173 | 10-in. | 4/4/1929 | A garden in the rain | Tom Frawley ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148174 | 10-in. | 4/4/1929 | Old fashioned lady | Irving Kaufman ; Perley Stevens and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148175 | 10-in. | 4/4/1929 | I'm still caring | Jim Andrews ; Jerry Mason and his Californians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 148190 | 10-in. | 4/8/1929 | After thinking it over | Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Marvin Young [Irving Kaufman] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 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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