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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 351-375 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 147173 10-in. 10/31/1928 Maybe this is love Arthur Ross and his Westerners [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W147389 10-in. 11/5/1928 Buy, buy for baby Columbians Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W147390 10-in. 11/5/1928 Pompanola Broadway Nitelites Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W147391 10-in. 11/5/1928 Marion Columbians Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W147394 10-in. 11/16/1928 My inspiration is you Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W147395 10-in. 11/16/1928 Stairway of dreams The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147446 10-in. 11/7/1928 My inspiration is you The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Mitchell Vogel Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147447 10-in. 11/7/1928 How about me? Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147448 10-in. 11/7/1928 I'll get by (As long as I have you) The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147462 10-in. 11/14/1928 Sunny skies Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147463 10-in. 11/14/1928 Don't hold everything (Let everything go) Arthur Hall ; Jerry Mason and his Californians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147464 10-in. 11/14/1928 When the right one comes along Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147465 10-in. 11/15/1928 Don't do that to the poor puss-cat Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with instrumental quintet leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 147466 10-in. 11/15/1928 Ever since the movies learned to talk Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with instrumental quintet leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 147475 10-in. 11/21/1928 A love tale of Alsace-Lorraine Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147476 10-in. 11/21/1928 My Annapolis (And you) The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147477 10-in. 11/21/1928 Love dreams Louisiana Collegians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W147680 10-in. 11/28/1928 Lonely vagabond Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia 147681 10-in. 11/28/1928 Loneliness Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Arthur Seelig Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147682 10-in. 11/28/1928 My Tonia Ed Blossom and his New Englanders [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tom Frawley Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147697 10-in. 12/5/1928 Monna vanna The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147698 10-in. 12/5/1928 Along came sweetness The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147699 10-in. 12/5/1928 In Romany Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Arthur Seelig Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147718 10-in. 12/19/1928 Sleepy Valley Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 147719 10-in. 12/19/1928 You tell me your dream (I'll tell you mine) Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 351-375 of 1016 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed May 20, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064

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