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 726-750 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | W152104 | 10-in. | 2/4/1932 | Rain on the roof | Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152105 | 10-in. | 2/4/1932 | Auf Wiedersehen, my dear | Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152110 | 10-in. | 2/11/1932 | Just friends | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152113 | 10-in. | 2/29/1932 | My mom | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152121 | 10-in. | 3/1/1932 | Snuggled on your shoulder (Cuddled in your arms) | Kate Smith | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | W152122 | 10-in. | 3/1/1932 | Love, you funny thing! | Kate Smith | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | W152125 | 10-in. | 3/8/1932 | You can make my life a bed of roses (Marry me) | Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152126 | 10-in. | 3/8/1932 | Them good old times | Bob Miller's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152127 | 10-in. | 3/8/1932 | Too many tears | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152128 | 10-in. | 3/8/1932 | On the road to Mandalay | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | W152129 | 10-in. | 3/8/1932 | Say | Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | W152193 | 10-in. | 5/12/1932 | Crazy people | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal trio | leader | |
Columbia | W152194 | 10-in. | 5/12/1932 | Is I in love? I is | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal trio | leader | |
Columbia | W152195 | 10-in. | 5/12/1932 | Lullaby of the leaves | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W152196 | 10-in. | 5/12/1932 | Whistle and blow your blues away | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W152209 | 10-in. | 6/9/1932 | Cabin in the cotton | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Helen Rowland | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152210 | 10-in. | 6/9/1932 | (I've got the words—I've got the tune) Hummin' to myself | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152211 | 10-in. | 6/9/1932 | Masquerade | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152212 | 10-in. | 6/9/1932 | Sylvia | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | leader | |
Columbia | W152221 | 10-in. | 6/23/1932 | The lady I love | The Knickerbockers ; Bruce Noble | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152222 | 10-in. | 6/23/1932 | All of a sudden | The Knickerbockers ; Paul Small | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152223 | 10-in. | 6/23/1932 | Holding my honey's hand | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152224 | 10-in. | 6/23/1932 | Sleep, come on and take me | Ben Selvin and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W152265 | 10-in. | 8/15/1932 | I love a parade | Harry Richman | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | W152266 | 10-in. | 8/15/1932 | It was so beautiful | Harry Richman | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | 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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