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 126-150 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 143360 | 10-in. | 1/27/1927 | I'm looking over a four leaf clover | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 143361 | 10-in. | 1/27/1927 | Put your arms where they belong | Jimmy Flynn ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 143362 | 10-in. | 1/27/1927 | You should see my tootsie now | Robert Benjamin ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader | |
Columbia | W143372 | 10-in. | 1/31/1927 | Lazy river (Flowing to the Southland) | The Cavaliers ; Lewis James ; Elliott Shaw | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | leader | |
Columbia | W143373 | 10-in. | 1/31/1927 | That saxophone waltz | The Cavaliers ; Lewis James | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143464 | 10-in. | 2/11/1927 | Rio Rita | Charles Kaley ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143465 | 10-in. | 2/11/1927 | The kinkajou | The Knickerbockers ; Johnny Marvin | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143496 | 10-in. | 2/18/1927 | I could waltz on forever with you, sweetheart | The Cavaliers ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143498 | 10-in. | 2/19/1927 | Hoosier sweetheart (Say who) | Columbians ; Charles Kaley | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 143509 | 10-in. | 2/21/1927 | I've never seen a straight banana | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 143510 | 10-in. | 2/21/1927 | Mine | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 143511 | 10-in. | 2/21/1927 | Lily | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143573 | 10-in. | 3/3/1927 | Following you around | Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143574 | 10-in. | 3/3/1927 | The love waltz | The Cavaliers ; Frank Harris | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143691 | 10-in. | 3/19/1927 | Calling | The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W143692 | 10-in. | 3/19/1927 | Nesting time | The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144003 | 10-in. | 4/7/1927 | (What do I care what) Somebody said | Arthur Fields ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144004 | 10-in. | 4/7/1927 | I'll always remember you | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144005 | 10-in. | 4/7/1927 | (Does she love me?) Positively, absolutely | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Jack Wilson | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W144042 | 10-in. | 4/25/1927 | Rosy cheeks | Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W144043 | 10-in. | 4/25/1927 | One summer night | Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144409 | 10-in. | 6/29/1927 | Gid-ap, Garibaldi | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Jack Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144410 | 10-in. | 6/29/1927 | You don't like it—not much | Robert Benjamin ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader | |
Columbia | 144411 | 10-in. | 6/29/1927 | Wy-lets | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with vocal ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | W144497 | 10-in. | 7/25/1927 | Who's wonderful, who's marvelous? Miss Annabelle Lee | The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Selvin, Ben," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
Selvin, Ben. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111064.
"Selvin, Ben." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 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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