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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 101-125 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W142461 10-in. 7/19/1926 Am I wasting my time on you Franklyn Baur ; The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 142482 10-in. 7/30/1926 Sleepy head Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 142483 10-in. 7/30/1926 Trail of dreams Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia 142484 10-in. 7/30/1926 That's Annabelle The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W142548 10-in. 8/20/1926 Sleepy head The Cavaliers ; Lewis James Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W142549 10-in. 8/20/1926 Falling in love with you The Cavaliers ; Lewis James Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 142593 10-in. 9/10/1926 Stars The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Radio Franks Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet leader  
Columbia 142594 10-in. 9/10/1926 When you waltz with the one you love Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Frank Bessinger Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 142595 10-in. 9/10/1926 Pretty Cinderella Frank Bessinger ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W142754 10-in. 10/8/1926 Blame it on the waltz The Cavaliers ; Charles Hart Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W142755 10-in. 10/8/1926 Cheritza The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia 142863 10-in. 10/23/1926 That's my girl The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 142864 10-in. 10/23/1926 For my sweetheart The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 142865 10-in. 10/23/1926 A little music in the moonlight The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W142929 10-in. 11/11/1926 In a little Spanish town The Cavaliers ; Frank Harris Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W142930 10-in. 11/11/1926 Trail of dreams The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W142940 10-in. 11/17/1926 Someone Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W142941 10-in. 11/17/1926 Half a moon The Knickerbockers ; Johnny Marvin Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 143187 10-in. 12/15/1926 There's a little white house (Where the red, red roses grow) Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; John Ryan Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 143188 10-in. 12/15/1926 Tell me to-night The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; John Ryan Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 143189 10-in. 12/15/1926 There ain't no maybe in my baby's eyes Robert Benjamin ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist  
Columbia W143268 10-in. 1/8/1927 Delilah The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W143269 10-in. 1/8/1927 I found a million-dollar baby (In a five-and-ten-cent store) The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W143311 10-in. 1/15/1927 To-night you belong to me The Cavaliers ; Vincent Van Tuyl Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W143312 10-in. 1/15/1927 Blue skies Charles Kaley ; The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 101-125 of 1016 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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