Resource id #75
Image Source: Wikipedia

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 751-775 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W152331 10-in. 12/16/1932 You're getting to be a habit with me Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet leader  
Columbia W152332 10-in. 12/16/1932 Young and healthy Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152333 10-in. 12/16/1932 A white house of our own Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Elmer Feldkamp Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152334 10-in. 12/16/1932 Street of dreams Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Larry Murphy Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152430 10-in. 7/5/1933 Moonstruck Irene Collins ; Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet leader  
Columbia W152431 10-in. 7/5/1933 Reflections in the water Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152432 10-in. 7/5/1933 Morning, noon and night Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Jack Miller Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152433 10-in. 7/5/1933 Learn to croon Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152473 10-in. 8/24/1933 Sweetheart of sweet sixteen Joe Morrison Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152474 10-in. 8/24/1933 Love is the sweetest thing Joe Morrison Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152491 10-in. 9/8/1933 Be careful Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Columbia W152492 10-in. 9/8/1933 Gather lip rouge while you may Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader  
Columbia W152498 10-in. 9/15/1933 The waltz is on Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152499 10-in. 9/15/1933 Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Ethel Shutta Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152500 10-in. 9/15/1933 Snowball Ethel Shutta Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152501 10-in. 9/15/1933 If I had somebody to love The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152521 10-in. 10/10/1933 Heat wave Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152522 10-in. 10/10/1933 Harlem on my mind Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W152539 10-in. 10/27/1933 Puddin' Head Jones Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152540 10-in. 10/27/1933 Build a little home Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Irene Collins ; Fran Frey Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet leader  
Columbia W152541 10-in. 10/27/1933 My dancing lady Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152542 10-in. 10/27/1933 Sittin' on a log (Pettin' my dog) Fran Frey and his Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152765 10-in. 6/28/1934 Rollin' home Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Howard Phillips Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152766 10-in. 6/28/1934 I only have eyes for you Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Howard Phillips Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W152767 10-in. 6/28/1934 The prize waltz Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Howard Phillips Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 751-775 of 1016 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed May 15, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 15, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 15 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.