Benjamin Bernard Selvin (March 5, 1898 – July 15, 1980) was an American musician, bandleader, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He was known as the Dean of Recorded Music. Selvin was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, 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 ''Dance Band'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, June Clyde and Steven Geray. It was shot at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director David Rawnsley. Plot When 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 "Dardanella" is a popular song published in 1919 by McCarthy & Fisher, Inc., a firm owned by Fred Fisher, lyricist, for music composed by Felix Bernard and Johnny S. Black. Bandleader Ben Selvin (1898–1980) recorded "Dardanella" for several ...

" 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 “

” and other purported “million-sellers” in the 1920s was 150,000 discs. He was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA) that was presented to Selvin on his retirement on March 14, 1963.''The History of Music Production''
Richard James Burgess. Oxford University Press, New York, 2014, p. 35, According to ''

The Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

,'' 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.

1919–1927

Selvin started recording for Victor in 1919. He proceeded to record for almost all record companies at the time including Paramount, OKeh, Emerson, Lyric, Arto, Cardnal, Vocalion, Pathe, Federal, Brunswick, Grey Gull, Banner (and the related dime store labels), and Columbia. From 1922 to 1925, over half of his records were on Vocalion, but he apparently did not have an exclusive contract with any of these labels until he signed with Columbia in 1927.

Columbia

From 1927 to 1934 Selvin was artists and repertoire ( A&R) director for Columbia Records, where his many productions included musicians Mannie Klein, Benny Goodman,

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, and

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

. Many of these recordings are collectable and prized (especially those recorded in 1931–1934). There were incorrect reports that Ben Selvin's Band played under the name "Perley Stevens and his Orchestra". Perley Stevens occasionally played with Ben Selvin's Band and many others, including Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras and Paul Whiteman's Band. During the Columbia era, Selvin recorded under many different names (for Columbia,

OKeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

, Odeon,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

, Harmony,

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

Velvet Tone Velvet Tone Records was an American record label that was founded by Columbia Records in 1925 and shut down in 1932. Velvet Tone contained material identical to that of Columbia's two other low price labels, Harmony Records and Diva Records (and ...

, and Clarion) including: * The Broadway Nitelites * The Knickerbockers * The Columbians * The Cavaliers * The Radiolites * Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans * Jerry Mason and his Californians * The Harmonians * Rudy Marlow and his Orchestra * Columbia Photo Players * Frank Auburn and his Orchestra * Kolster Dance Orchestra * Lloyd Keating and his Music * Earl Marlow and his Orchestra * Ed Loyd and his Orchestra * Ray Seeley and his Orchestra * Sam Nash and his Orchestra * Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra * Johnny Walker and his Orchestra * Chester Leighton and his Sophomores * Wally Edwards and his Orchestra * Roy Carroll and his Sands Point Orchestra * Buddy Campbell and his Orchestra * Golden Terrace Orchestra * Bar Harbor Society Orchestra * Ted Raph and his Orchestra * Georgia Moonlight Serenaders * Cloverdale Country Club Orchestra * Ed Parker and his Orchestra * Jerry Fenwyck and his Orchestra

After Columbia

Selvin helped develop

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...

in the mid-1930s. In 1934 he was named Vice President of programming at

in New York City. He was musical director of

Majestic Records Majestic Records was a mid-20th century record label based in New York City, incorporated in 1945 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Majestic Radio & Television. The label enjoyed its greatest commercial success in the 1940s until expansion and supp ...

beginning in 1947. He was a vice-president and A&R director (artists and repertoire) at Columbia Records in charge of the recordings of Frank Sinatra, Doris Day,

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

and

Buddy Clark Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Worl ...

in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was an A&R director in 1953 at RCA Victor in charge of the company's popular Camden Records label and served as the musical director for a recording in 1954 with John Serry Sr. (''See

RCA Thesaurus thumb RCA Thesaurus, a brand owned by RCA Victor, was a supplier of electrical transcriptions. Efforts were made as early as 1936 to consolidate The RCA Victor Transcription service with NBC's independent transcription service within the NBC radio ...

''). In 1956 he served once again as musical director with Serry for another swing jazz album at

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

(''See Squeeze Play'') After retirement, he became a consultant to 3M, helping them make the transition from

vinyl records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

to audio cassettes.

Selected discography

Popular recordings from Selvin's extensive discography include: * " The Original Charleston" (the Columbia 78rpm version) :The Knickerbockers (Ben Selvin & His Orch.) :NYC – Apr. 10th, 1925 :Voc. vocal breaks by Ben Selvin :Columbia 355–D, mx.140514–1 * "

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Margaret, Marjorie or Margarita. Margie may refer to: People * Margie Ackles (born 1939), American retired figure skater * Marjorie Margie Alexander (1948–2013), American ...

" :Selvin's Novelty Orchestra :NYC – Nov., 1920 :Voc. Arthur Hall :

Grey Gull The grey gull, also known as garuma gull (''Leucophaeus modestus'') is a medium-sized gull native to South America. Unusual among gulls, it breeds inland in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in northern Chile, although it is present as a non-bree ...

L–1036–(a), mx.J–3–10 * "So This Is Venice" :Ben Selvin & His Moulin Rouge Orchestra :NYC – Dec., 1923 :Voc. Irving Kaufman :

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

A–14757, mx.12641 * "Steppin' in Society" (the Columbia 78 rpm version) :The Knickerbockers :NYC – May 26th, 1925 :Columbia 391–D, mx.W–140623–2 * "We'll Have a New Home (In the Morning)" :Ben Selvin & His Orchestra :NYC – Dec. 28th, 1927 :Vocs. unidentified trio :Columbia 1274–D, mx.W–145445 * "

Happy Days Are Here Again "Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film '' Chasing Rainbows'' and was the campaign song for ...

" :

Annette Hanshaw Catherine Annette Hanshaw (October 18, 1901 – March 13, 1985) was an American Jazz Age singer. She was one of the most popular radio stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Over four million of her records had been sold by 1934. In her ten-y ...

:(Ben Selvin & His Orchestra – vocs. Annette Hanshaw & The Rollickers) :NYC – Feb. 11th, 1930 :

Diva Records Diva Records was an American record label from 1925 to 1932 that sold records through W. T. Grant retail stores. It was a division of Columbia Records. Artists on the label included Irving Kaufman, Annette Hanshaw, The Golden Gate Orchestr ...

3106–G; Harmony 1106–H; Velvet Tone 2106–V * "

" :(

Felix Bernard Felix William Bernard (April 28, 1897 – October 20, 1944) was an American conductor, pianist and a composer of popular music. His writing credits include the popular songs "Winter Wonderland" (with lyricist Richard B. Smith) and "Dardanella". B ...

– Johnny S. Black) :(Six-million seller – No. 1 hit for 13 weeks, 24 in charts) :Selvin's Novelty Orchestra :NYC – Nov. 20th, 1919 :Victor 18633–A, mx.23344–3 * "

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular American song written in 1918, released in late 1919, becoming a number one hit for Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It has been revived and adapted over the years, serving as the anthem of Premier Leag ...

" :( John Kellette – Jaan Kenbrovin) :(No. 1 hit for 4 weeks) :Selvin's Novelty Orchestra :NYC – Jul. 31st, 1919 :Victor 18603–A, mx.B–22966–6 * "

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

" :( Richard Rodgers – Lorenz Hart) :(No. 1 hit for 4 weeks) :The Knickerbockers :NYC – Jul. 15th, 1925 :Columbia 422–D, mx.W–140765 * "

Sentimental Me "Sentimental Me" is a popular song which was written by James T. Morehead and James Cassin and published in 1949. The most popular version was recorded by The Ames Brothers. Other hit versions in 1950 were recorded by the Russ Morgan Orchestra and ...

" :(Richard Rodgers – Lorenz Hart) :(No. 2 hit) :The Knickerbockers :NYC – Jul. 15th, 1925 :Columbia 422–D, mx.W–140766 * "

I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew L ...

" :(

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Ju ...

–

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

) :(No. 2 hit) :The Knickerbockers :Voc.

Vaughn De Leath Vaughn De Leath (September 26, 1894 – May 28, 1943) was an American female singer who gained popularity in the 1920s, earning the sobriquets "The Original Radio Girl" and the "First Lady of Radio." Although very popular in the 1920s, De Leath is ...

:NYC – Jun. 1st, 1928 :Columbia 1424–D, mx.W–146380 * "

You're the Cream in My Coffee "You're the Cream in My Coffee" is a popular song published in 1928. Popular recordings were by Annette Hanshaw, Ben Selvin (vocal by Jack Palmer), Ted Weems (vocal by Parker Gibbs) and Ruth Etting. The music was written by Ray Henderson, wit ...

" :( Ray Henderson –

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...

–

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

) :(No. 2 hit) :Eddie Thomas' Collegians (and/or) The Broadway Nitelites (Ben Selvin & His Orch.) – :Voc. Jack Parker :NYC – Oct. 19th, 1928 :Columbia 1604–D, mx.W–147140–3 * "

I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...

" :( Harry Warren – Al Dubin) :(No. 2 hit) :Ben Selvin & His Orchestra :Voc. Howard Phillips :NYC – Jun. 28th, 1934 :Columbia 2936–D, mx.152766

Death

Ben Selvin died in July 1980, and was buried at the Mount Hebron Cemetery in

Bibliography

* Johnson, Richard J., and Shirley, Bernard H. ''American Dance Bands on Record and Film 1915–1942''. Rustbooks, 2010. * Rust, Brian. ''American Dance Discography''. Arlington House, 1975.

References

External links

''Ben Selvin and his Orchestra'' (1920's) performing on archive.org''The Library of Congress - National Jukebox - Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra performing on records (1919-1920) on www.loc.gov''''Ben Selvin'' on The European Library.org''Ben Selvin'' on Bnf.frBen Selvin recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Selvin, Ben 1898 births 1980 deaths American bandleaders Big band bandleaders Columbia Records artists Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American conductors (music) Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)