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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 601-625 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W150750 10-in. 8/29/1930 One more waltz The Columbia Photo Players Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150798 10-in. 9/12/1930 Sea rapture The Rollickers Male vocal quartet, with violin and piano instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150799 10-in. 9/12/1930 The dawn brought me love and you The Rollickers Male vocal quartet, with violin and piano (takes 1-3); with piano (takes 4-6) instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150802 10-in. 9/15/1930 I am the words Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150803 10-in. 9/15/1930 (There's something about an) Old fashioned girl Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150844 10-in. 9/29/1930 Body and soul Ruth Etting Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150845 10-in. 9/29/1930 Laughing at life Ruth Etting Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150859 10-in. 10/4/1930 Loving you Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150860 10-in. 10/4/1930 Just a little while Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia [W]150863 10-in. 10/7/1930 Body and soul Annette Hanshaw Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia [W]150864 10-in. 10/7/1930 Wasting my love on you Annette Hanshaw Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150900 10-in. 10/24/1930 My man from Caroline Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150901 10-in. 10/24/1930 Wedding bells are ringing for Sally (But not for Sally and me) The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150902 10-in. 10/24/1930 Still I love her Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150949 10-in. 11/12/1930 Waiting by the silv'ry Rio Grande The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150950 10-in. 11/12/1930 I'm alone because I love you The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150952 10-in. 11/14/1930 The song of the fool Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150953 10-in. 11/14/1930 Crying myself to sleep! The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150954 10-in. 11/14/1930 Who's calling you sweetheart tonight? Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150958 10-in. 11/17/1930 Morning, noon and night Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150959 10-in. 11/17/1930 Held by the spell of the moon Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150966 10-in. 11/18/1930 I got rhythm Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150967 10-in. 11/18/1930 Three little words Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150970 10-in. 11/24/1930 We're friends again Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150971 10-in. 11/24/1930 You're the one I care for Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 601-625 of 1016 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed May 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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