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

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

, and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. He was known as the Dean of Recorded Music. 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 British reference book published annually, listi ...

,'' 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.

Biography and career

Selvin was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

) 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,

Early career (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, Cardinal, 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 Emmanuel Klein (February 4, 1908 – May 31, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with swing. Career Born in New York City, New York, Klein began recording with The Ambassadors for Vocalion in 1924, worked with Paul Whiteman in ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

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

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 Peopl ...

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...

Eddie Lang Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro; October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...

, 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 originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, Odeon,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a 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 1923 as the Parloph ...

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

, Velvet Tone, and

Clarion Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The Register (music), register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A Trumpet (organ stop), trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave abov ...

) 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

Under his own name, Selvin had accepted an exclusive contract to

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

when the company's management decided to venture into radio with "The Brunswick Hour", under the direction of

Gus Haenschen Walter Gustave Haenschen (November 3, 1889 – March 27, 1980) was a pianist, arranger and composer of music and an orchestra conductor, primarily on U.S. network radio programs. Early years Haenschen was born in St. Louis to parents whose re ...

. When it became clear to Brunswick's management that an urgent need existed for pre-recorded music programming for smaller radio stations unable to afford their own orchestras, Brunswick's general manager

William A. Brophy William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

agreed with the recommendations of his assistant secretary Percy L. Deutsch, popular-music director Haenschen, and arranger-conductor

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...

to develop a library of high-quality recorded music for leasing to smaller radio stations. The new venture was called the

World Broadcasting System World Broadcasting System, Inc., was an American recording service for the radio industry founded in 1929 by Percy L. Deutsch (1885–1968), with key investors and creative artists (Walter) Gustave Haenschen and Milton Diamond (both of whom had wor ...

, with newly-constructed recording facilities in Manhattan called

Sound Studios, Inc. In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

Haenschen persuaded Selvin to leave Brunswick to accept an offer from

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

to become the company's Artists and Repertoire director while also serving as a silent partner in the World Broadcasting venture. Selvin, who was known for his ability to write orchestral arrangements rapidly and to oversee multiple recording sessions, became a central figure in the success of World Broadcasting. His experience there led him to play a founding role in

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments owned by Mood Media. The name ''Muzak'', a blend of music and the popular camera brand name Kodak, has been in use since 1934 and has been ...

in the 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 sup ...

beginning in 1947. At

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as A&R director and then vice-president, Selvin was in charge of the recordings of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

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

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. In 1953, Selvin left his post as general manager in the Southern Music Publishing Co. and emerged as an A&R director at

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

in charge of the company's popular Camden Records label as well as its

RCA Thesaurus thumb RCA Thesaurus, a brand owned by RCA Victor, was a supplier of electrical transcriptions. It enjoyed a long history of producing electrical transcriptions of music for radio broadcasting which dated back to NBC's Radio Recording Division. Eff ...

electrical transcriptions Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

library. Subsequently, he served as the musical director for a recording in 1954 with

John Serry Sr. John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voice ...

for RCA Thesaurus. In 1954 Selvin also recruited another artist from the realm of

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

music for the RCA Thesaurus library –

George Melachrino George Melachrino (born ''George Miltiades''; 1 May 1909 – 18 June 1965) was a musician, composer of film music, and musical director who was English born of Greek and Italian descent. He was an accomplished player of the violin, viola, oboe, ...

. 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 its early years, Dot sp ...

(''See Squeeze Play''). As the decade came to a close, Selvin continued to expand the content of the RCA Thesaurus musical library by recruiting several orchestra leaders from the

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

era including:

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

, Freddie Martin and

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

. An agreement with the JATP impresario

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo and the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Gra ...

was also signed at this time which enabled Selvin to showcase performances by leading soloists from the realm of Jazz including:

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

and

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

. 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 a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

to audio cassettes. He also served as a musical consultant to Top of the Fair venue at the New York World's Fair in 1964.

Death

Selvin died at his home at 112 Reni Road in

Flower Hill, New York Flower Hill is a village in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The eastern half is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Incorporated Village of Roslyn. Western and north ...

, on July 15, 1980. He was 82 years old at the time of his death, which had been caused by a heart attack.

Honours

The ''Guinness Book of World Records'' states that Ben Selvin made a record 9,000 recordings as either a bandleader, violinist or recording manager from 1919 to 1966. The cumulative output of recorded songs credited to him over the decades has been estimated to total between 13,000–20,000 different titles.Discography of American Historical Recordings – Ben Selvin Biography on adp.library.ucsb.edu
/ref> In recognition of his achievements, Selvin was awarded a gold disk by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in 1963.

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 the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl". Margie may refer to: People * Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman * Margie Ac ...

" :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 Irving Robert Kaufman (June 24, 1910 – February 1, 1992) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States Distri ...

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

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. It was originally published by Ager, Yellen, and Bornstein. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in t ...

" :

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, with many of her most notable performances taking place on NBC's Maxwel ...

:(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 Orchestra, ...

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 Bernhard Smith) and "Dardanel ...

– 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 Lea ...

" :(

John Kellette John William Kellette (June 1873 – August 7, 1922) was an American songwriter. Kellette's most famous composition was "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," which was introduced in the Broadway theatre, musical revue The Passing Show of 1918, which ...

– 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 ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

" :(

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

–

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

) :(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 an ...

" :(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, J ...

–

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include " The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (193 ...

) :(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. Hit 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, with lyr ...

" :(

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was one-third of ...

–

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 R ...

–

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, espec ...

) :(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 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. The song was written for the 1934 film ''Dames (film), Dames'', in which it was performed by Dick Powell. Several other successful recordings of the song were m ...

" :(

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

–

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that immigrated to the United States from Sw ...

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

Archived recordings

* The

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

at the University of California – Santa Barbara includes an extensive collection of Ben Selvin's audio recordings on the Brunswick, Columbia, Victor and Vocalion labels which are accessible for online listening.

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'' (1920s) 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.fr

Ben Selvin recordings
at the

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Selvin, Ben 1898 births 1980 deaths American jazz bandleaders American big band bandleaders American record producers Columbia Records artists Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American conductors (music) People from Flower Hill, New York