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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 201-225 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W145575 10-in. 1/28/1928 Oh gee! Oh joy! Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Lewis James Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145576 10-in. 1/28/1928 Say so! Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Lewis James Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145577 10-in. 2/3/1928 Auf wiederseh'n The Cavaliers ; Cyril Pitts Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145578 10-in. 2/3/1928 My stormy weather pal The Cavaliers ; Oscar Grogan Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145585 10-in. 1/25/1928 Poor butterfly waits for me Lee Morse Female vocal solo, with violin, piano, and lute instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 145589 10-in. 1/27/1928 Old time waltzes Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 145590 10-in. 1/27/1928 Old time waltzes Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 145591 10-in. 1/27/1928 Together The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia 145607 10-in. 2/4/1928 The lonesome road Tommy Weir Male vocal solo, with violin, alto saxophone, and piano instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 145608 10-in. 2/4/1928 I'd rather be lonesome without you (Than have you unhappy with me) Tommy Weir Male vocal solo, with violin, alto saxophone, and piano instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 145639 10-in. 2/14/1928 Sunshine Irving Kaufman Male vocal solo, with violin, alto saxophone, and piano instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 145640 10-in. 2/14/1928 (I'm cryin' 'cause I know I'm) Losing you Irving Kaufman Male vocal solo, with violin, alto saxophone, and piano instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia 145667 10-in. 2/20/1928 I just roll along (Havin' my ups and downs) The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 145668 10-in. 2/20/1928 Chloe The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145685 10-in. 2/27/1928 There must be a silver lining (That's shining for me) Stella Dance Band Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145686 10-in. 2/27/1928 Indian cradle song Lewis James ; Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145694 10-in. 2/29/1928 When Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Frank Harris Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145695 10-in. 2/29/1928 Tell me you're sorry Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Frank Harris Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 145710 10-in. 3/2/1928 Little mother Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 145711 10-in. 3/2/1928 Dream River Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145756 10-in. 3/17/1928 Really and truly Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145776 10-in. 3/17/1928 Speedy boy Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Frank Harris Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145895 10-in. 3/31/1928 Ramona Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; James Melton Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W145896 10-in. 3/31/1928 In my bouquet of memories Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; James Melton Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia 145958 10-in. 4/4/1928 Hello Montreal! The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 201-225 of 1016 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.

"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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