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 376-400 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 147720 | 10-in. | 12/19/1928 | The spell of the blues | Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Arthur Seelig | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147729 | 10-in. | 12/26/1928 | The song I love | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | leader | |
Columbia | W147730 | 10-in. | 12/26/1928 | A room with a view | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | leader | |
Columbia | W147731 | 10-in. | 12/26/1928 | Dance, little lady | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147743 | 10-in. | 1/2/1929 | Poor Punicello | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147744 | 10-in. | 1/2/1929 | Marie | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147745 | 10-in. | 1/2/1929 | Cradle of love | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147797 | 10-in. | 1/16/1929 | You can't take my mem'ries from me | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147798 | 10-in. | 1/16/1929 | Sweet Suzanne | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147799 | 10-in. | 1/16/1929 | My Angeline | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147869 | 10-in. | 1/21/1929 | That's the good old sunny South | The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147870 | 10-in. | 1/21/1929 | Who wouldn't be jealous of you? | The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147881 | 10-in. | 1/23/1929 | My starlight | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147882 | 10-in. | 1/23/1929 | Heart o' mine | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147883 | 10-in. | 1/23/1929 | There is a happy land (Far, far, away) | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147907 | 10-in. | 1/30/1929 | If I had you | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147908 | 10-in. | 1/30/1929 | Carolina moon | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147920 | 10-in. | 2/4/1929 | You were meant for me | Broadway Nitelites | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W147921 | 10-in. | 2/4/1929 | Yo te amo means I love you | The Columbians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Dick Robertson | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147935 | 10-in. | 2/6/1929 | Wednesday night waltz | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147936 | 10-in. | 2/6/1929 | My honeymoon waltz | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 147937 | 10-in. | 2/6/1929 | Underneath the Russian moon | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | [W]147953 | 10-in. | 2/11/1929 | When I'm walkin' with my sweetness (Down among the sugar cane) | Jack Miller ; New England Yankees [Selvin's Orchestra] | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | [W]147954 | 10-in. | 2/11/1929 | Weary river | Jack Miller ; New England Yankees [Selvin's Orchestra] | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | W147956 | 10-in. | 2/13/1929 | Redskin | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Mildred Hunt | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Selvin, Ben, 1898-1980 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98080176
Wikidata: Ben Selvin - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q304517
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/54338200
MusicBrainz: Ben Selvin - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/84733717-7fa8-43da-a6aa-259fa1f36eb0
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