"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 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. According to ''The Guinness Book of World Records,'' Selvin recorded more musical si ...

(1898–1980) recorded "Dardanella" for several record labels (including Victor and Paramount). His main recording was made for Victor on November 20, 1919, under the name of Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It was released December 1919, reaching number one the following month, a position It held for 13 weeks. It also ranked number one for the year 1920, and was the second-highest selling single of the

1920s File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the Eighteenth Amendment to ...

. Selvin's recording broke records by becoming the first record to sell more than three million copies, and would go on to sell more than 5 million. As with most hit records of the time, the market was soon rife with unauthorized copies of the tune. A front page ad in Variety (January 2, 1920) warned "thieves and pirates" not to "imitate, copy or steal any part of 'Dardanella'." There were, however, a number of other successful recordings in 1920, by Prince's Orchestra, Harry Raderman's Jazz Orchestra, and Henry Burr and Albert Campbell. Notable subsequent recordings were by Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band (included in his album ''A Stranger No More''); by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

on their 1960 album '' Bing & Satchmo'', and by

Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kweskin J ...

and

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and h ...

on their 1974 Warner/Reprise album, "Sweet Potatoes," featuring Amos Garrett.

Notes

Bibliography

*Fisher, Fred (w.); Felix Bernard/Johnny S. Black (m). "Dardanella" (Sheet Music). New York: McCarthy & Fisher (1919). *

External links

"Dardanella" (instrumental)
Selvin's Novelty Orchestra (Victor 18633, 1919) at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. {{authority control 1919 songs Songs written by Fred Fisher Songs with music by Felix Bernard