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 801-825 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | W351017 | 10-in. | 5/9/1931 | Wrap your troubles in dreams (And dream your troubles away) | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351018 | 10-in. | 5/9/1931 | I "wanna" sing about you | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351020 | 10-in. | 5/19/1931 | Faithfully yours | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351022 | 10-in. | 5/19/1931 | Under your window tonight (Yoo-hoo I'll call to you) | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351037 | 10-in. | 6/19/1931 | Many happy returns of the day | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351043 | 10-in. | 6/18/1931 | Just one more chance | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351044 | 10-in. | 6/18/1931 | Makin' faces at the man in the moon | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351045 | 10-in. | 6/18/1931 | Without that gal! | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351053 | 10-in. | 7/7/1931 | I'm an unemployed sweetheart | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351054 | 10-in. | 7/3/1931 | It's the girl! | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351058 | 10-in. | 7/3/1931 | Why dance? | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351063 | 10-in. | 7/21/1931 | Me! | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351066 | 10-in. | 7/7/1931 | I love you in the same sweet way | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351067 | 10-in. | 7/7/1931 | I'm all dressed up with a broken heart | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351068 | 10-in. | 7/7/1931 | The kiss that you've forgotten (Is the kiss I can't forget) | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351077 | 10-in. | 7/21/1931 | I love Louisa | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351081 | 10-in. | 7/28/1931 | Sweet and lovely | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351082 | 10-in. | 7/28/1931 | I can't get Mississippi off my mind | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351084 | 10-in. | 8/18/1931 | What are you thinking about, baby | Lloyd Keating and his Music [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351085 | 10-in. | 8/18/1931 | (If this is love) I don't want love | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351087 | 10-in. | 8/13/1931 | As time goes by | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351089 | 10-in. | 8/25/1931 | This is the missus | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351090 | 10-in. | 8/25/1931 | I apologize | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351093 | 10-in. | 8/25/1931 | Now that you're gone | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W351100 | 10-in. | 9/9/1931 | Guilty | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed October 3, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 3, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 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
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