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 176-200 of 1016 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | W144963 | 10-in. | 11/9/1927 | Aloha oe blues | Moana Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W144964 | 10-in. | 11/9/1927 | Oh the shores of Honolulu | Moana Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W144986 | 10-in. | 11/18/1927 | Back where the daisies grow | Robert Benjamin ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader | |
Columbia | W144987 | 10-in. | 11/18/1927 | Waiting for the rainbow | Lewis James ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144994 | 10-in. | 11/19/1927 | What'll you do? | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144995 | 10-in. | 11/19/1927 | There's a rickety rackety shack | Newport Society Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 144996 | 10-in. | 11/19/1927 | I fell head over heels in love | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145268 | 10-in. | 12/2/1927 | The hours I spent with you | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145269 | 10-in. | 12/2/1927 | The sweetheart of Sigma Chi | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145270 | 10-in. | 12/2/1927 | Sweetheart memories | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W145280 | 10-in. | 12/7/1927 | Where in the world (Is there someone for me) | The Cavaliers ; Seger Ellis | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W145281 | 10-in. | 12/7/1927 | I never dreamed | Lewis James ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W145397 | 10-in. | 12/27/1927 | Moonlight lane | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | leader | |
Columbia | W145398 | 10-in. | 12/27/1927 | After we kiss | The Cavaliers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145422 | 10-in. | 12/17/1927 | The sunrise (Will bring another day for you) | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145423 | 10-in. | 12/17/1927 | You can tell her anything under the sun (When you get her under the moon) | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145424 | 10-in. | 12/17/1927 | Keep sweeping the cobwebs off the moon | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W145444 | 10-in. | 12/28/1927 | When you're with somebody else | Lewis James ; Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | W145445 | 10-in. | 12/28/1927 | We'll have a new home (In the mornin') | Crescent Trio ; Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, leader | |
Columbia | 145482 | 10-in. | 1/7/1928 | In the sing song sycamore tree | Newport Society Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145483 | 10-in. | 1/7/1928 | Four walls | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145484 | 10-in. | 1/7/1928 | There's somebody new | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145557 | 10-in. | 1/20/1928 | My Blue Ridge Mountain home | Mack Allen ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145558 | 10-in. | 1/20/1928 | My Blue Ridge Mountain queen | Mack Allen ; The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | 145559 | 10-in. | 1/20/1928 | There must be a silver lining (That's shining for me) | Newport Society Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader |
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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