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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 426-450 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W148196 10-in. 4/9/1929 My sin Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148197 10-in. 4/9/1929 Honey Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148398 10-in. 5/2/1929 Heigh-ho! Ev'rybody, heigh-ho! Frank Curren ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader  
Columbia 148399 10-in. 5/2/1929 Celia Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Lester Cortes Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148400 10-in. 5/2/1929 Little pal Arthur Fields ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148415 10-in. 5/3/1929 I'm just a vagabond lover Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148416 10-in. 5/3/1929 The one in the world Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148424 10-in. 5/7/1929 I'll always be in love with you The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet leader  
Columbia W148425 10-in. 5/7/1929 My dear The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet leader  
Columbia 148649 10-in. 6/3/1929 'Neath the palms The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148650 10-in. 6/3/1929 Then we canoe-dle-oodle along The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148651 10-in. 6/3/1929 Let me have my dreams Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Arthur Seelig Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148657 10-in. 6/5/1929 Some day you'll realize you're wrong The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148658 10-in. 6/5/1929 I'm feathering a nest (For a little bluebird) Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148659 10-in. 6/5/1929 Baby—oh where can you be? The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148691 10-in. 6/13/1929 Miss you Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148694 10-in. 6/13/1929 Junior Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148756 10-in. 6/26/1929 Where the sweet forget-me-nots remember Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148773 10-in. 7/2/1929 Where are you dream girl? The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148774 10-in. 7/2/1929 (If I were you) I'd fall in love with me The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader  
Columbia W148786 10-in. 7/5/1929 If we never should meet again The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148787 10-in. 7/5/1929 When you come to the end of the day The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148788 10-in. 7/5/1929 Am I blue? Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W148789 10-in. 7/5/1929 My song of the Nile Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 148790 10-in. 7/6/1929 Liza Jerry Mason and his Californians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 426-450 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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