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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 551-575 of 1016 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia [W]150448 10-in. 5/20/1930 Dancing with tears in my eyes The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader  
Columbia W150483 10-in. 4/21/1930 Dark night The Columbia Photo Players ; The Rondoliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150484 10-in. 4/21/1930 Dust Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150485 10-in. 4/21/1930 Kiss me with your eyes Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150486 10-in. 4/21/1930 You darlin' Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150568 10-in. 6/5/1930 With my guitar and you Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150569 10-in. 6/5/1930 Around the corner Helen Richards ; The Rondoliers ; Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150595 10-in. 6/17/1930 Lonely Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150596 10-in. 6/17/1930 Lo-lo Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; The Rondoliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble leader  
Columbia W150599 10-in. 6/21/1930 Wonder The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150600 10-in. 6/21/1930 Where can you be? The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150617 10-in. 7/3/1930 Betty Co-ed Johnny Walker and his Rollickers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet leader  
Columbia W150618 10-in. 7/3/1930 Kitty from Kansas City Johnny Walker and his Rollickers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet leader  
Columbia W150619 10-in. 7/3/1930 Live and love to-day The Columbia Photo Players Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal quartet leader  
Columbia W150620 10-in. 7/3/1930 Just a little closer Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150621 10-in. 7/7/1930 Why have you forgotten Waikiki? Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150622 10-in. 7/7/1930 It's easy to fall in love Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150623 10-in. 7/7/1930 Little white lies Blue Grass Boys ; Lee Morse Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150624 10-in. 7/7/1930 Nobody cares if I'm blue Blue Grass Boys ; Lee Morse Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150631 10-in. 7/8/1930 Don't let me hold you, baby mine Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia [W]150632 10-in. 7/8/1930 I don't want mind walkin' in the rain (When I'm walkin' in the rain with you) The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia [W]150633 10-in. 7/8/1930 Swingin' in a hammock The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150634 10-in. 7/8/1930 You'll be coming back to me Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, violin  
Columbia W150635 10-in. 7/9/1930 All through the night The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Columbia W150636 10-in. 7/9/1930 The kiss waltz The Cavaliers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
(Results 551-575 of 1016 records)

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

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064

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