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 526-550 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | W149924 | 10-in. | 1/28/1930 | Dreamy hula town | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W149956 | 10-in. | 2/1/1930 | Happy days are here again | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | W149957 | 10-in. | 2/3/1930 | The one girl | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | W149962 | 10-in. | 2/5/1930 | If I were king | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W149963 | 10-in. | 2/5/1930 | Oh! How I adore you | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W149991 | 10-in. | 2/14/1930 | (Up on top of a rainbow) Sweepin' the clouds away | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W149992 | 10-in. | 2/14/1930 | In my little hope chest | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | [W]150045 | 10-in. | 3/1/1930 | Lazy Lou'siana moon | Jack Miller ; The New Englanders | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | W150054 | 10-in. | 3/3/1930 | (Across the breakfast table) Looking at you | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150055 | 10-in. | 3/3/1930 | Let me sing and I'm happy | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150078 | 10-in. | 3/13/1930 | The "free and easy" | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150085 | 10-in. | 3/13/1930 | Reminiscing | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150086 | 10-in. | 3/13/1930 | I love you so | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150087 | 10-in. | 3/13/1930 | It must be you | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150158 | 10-in. | 4/9/1930 | The whole darned thing's for you | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150174 | 10-in. | 4/7/1930 | My future just passed | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150175 | 10-in. | 4/7/1930 | Leave it that way | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150192 | 10-in. | 4/9/1930 | I'm in the market for you | The Columbia Photo Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150411 | 10-in. | 5/13/1930 | Give yourself a pat on the back | Johnny Walker and his Rollickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W150412 | 10-in. | 5/13/1930 | The mug song | Johnny Walker and his Rollickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W150430 | 10-in. | 5/15/1930 | When it's springtime in the Rockies | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W150431 | 10-in. | 5/15/1930 | Cheer up (Good times are comin') | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W150437 | 10-in. | 5/16/1930 | I remember you from somewhere | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Ruth Etting | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W150438 | 10-in. | 5/16/1930 | Dancing with tears in my eyes | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Ruth Etting | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | [W]150447 | 10-in. | 5/20/1930 | Sharing | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Kate Smith | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed October 28, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 October 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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.