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Ben Selvin (March 5, 1898 July 15, 1980), son of Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
n-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 and innovator in recorded music. He was known as The Dean of Recorded Music.

Selvin started his professional life at age 15 as a fiddle
Musical styles (violin)

Classical musicSince the Baroque music era the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in European classical music, for several reasons....
 player in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 night clubs. A "husky" lad, he looked older than he was and as such was permitted into such establishments.

A mere six years later, as leader of his own dance band, the "Novelty Orchestra," Selvin released the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music.






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Ben Selvin (March 5, 1898 July 15, 1980), son of Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
n-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 and innovator in recorded music. He was known as The Dean of Recorded Music.

Selvin started his professional life at age 15 as a fiddle
Musical styles (violin)

Classical musicSince the Baroque music era the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in European classical music, for several reasons....
 player in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 night clubs. A "husky" lad, he looked older than he was and as such was permitted into such establishments.

A mere six years later, as leader of his own dance band, the "Novelty Orchestra," Selvin released the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. That single, Dardanella
Dardanella

"Dardanella" is a song that began life as a ballad with words by Fred Fisher, and put to the music written by Felix Bernard and Johnny S. Black in 1919....
, eventually went on to sell more than 5 million copies and an additional 2 million pieces of sheet music
Sheet music

Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of musical notation; like its analogs?books, pamphlets, etc.?the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens....
.

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 labels
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
 during this high-growth time in the industry, using a different name (or slightly different name) for each label
List of record labels

This is a list of notable record labels.Owing to the large number of entries, the list has been divided by the first letter of the label's name, with labels starting with a number added to this page:...
. Selvin's output has been estimated at 13,000 to 20,000 song titles.

Ben Selvin data

  • From 1927 to 1934 he was A&R Director for Columbia Records
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
    , where his many productions included scores of exceptionally well performed pop songs of the day with hot jazz solos by musicians like Manny Klein
    Manny Klein

    Manny Klein was a jazz trumpeter most associated with Swing music.He began with Paul Whiteman in 1928 and was active throughout the 1930s playing with several major bands of the era including the Dorseys and Benny Goodman....
    , Benny Goodman
    Benny Goodman

    Benjamin David Goodman, was an United States jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing ", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
    , Tommy Dorsey
    Tommy Dorsey

    Tommy Dorsey was an United States jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big band era. He was the younger brother of Jimmy Dorsey....
    , Jimmy Dorsey
    Jimmy Dorsey

    James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent United States jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader....
    , Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang
    Eddie Lang

    Eddie Lang was an American jazz guitarist, regarded as the most important Chicago jazz guitarist and the Father of the Jazz Guitar. He played a Gibson L-4 and Gibson L-5 guitar, providing great influence for many guitarists, including Django Reinhardt....
    , and Bunny Berigan
    Bunny Berigan

    Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan was an United States jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the Swing Era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33....
    , among others. Many of these specific recordings made during this period continue to be highly collected and prized.


  • During the Columbia era, he recorded under many different names including "The Broadway Nightlites", "The Knickerbockers", "The Columbians", "The Cavaliers", "Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans", "Perley Stevens and his Orchestra", "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", "Ted Raph and his Orchestra", "Georgia Moonlight Serenaders", "Cloverdale Country Club Orchestra", and "Ed Parker and his Orchestra".


  • Had an instrumental part in the development of Muzak
    Muzak

    Muzak Holdings Limited liability company is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, founded in 1934, that is best known for distribution of music to retail stores and other companies....
     in the mid-1930s.


  • Was musical director of Majestic Records
    Majestic Records

    Majestic Records was a mid-20th century New York City based record label. The label enjoyed its greatest commercial success in the 1940s, until over-ambitious expansion and an inability to keep distributors supplied with pressings of gramophone record resulted in financial problems, and the label folded in 1948....
     beginning in 1947.


  • Was a Vice-President and A&R Director (artists and repertoire) at Columbia Records
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
     in charge of the recordings of Frank Sinatra
    Frank Sinatra

    Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an United States singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers"....
    , Doris Day
    Doris Day

    Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff is a German-American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate known as Doris Day. Able to sing, dance, and play comedy and dramatic roles, she became one of the biggest box-office stars....
    , Dinah Shore
    Dinah Shore

    Dinah Shore was an United States singer, actress, and Celebrity. She was most popular during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s.After failing singing auditions for the bands of Benny Goodman and both Jimmy Dorsey and his brother Tommy Dorsey, Shore struck out on her own to become the first singer of her era to achieve huge solo succe...
     and Buddy Clark
    Buddy Clark

    Buddy Clark was a popular singer in the 1930s and 1940s.Clark was born Samuel Goldberg to Jewish parents in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He made his Big band singing debut in 1934 with Benny Goodman on the Let's Dance radio program....
     in the late '40s and early '50s.


  • Was an A&R Director at RCA Victor in charge of the company's popular Camden Label and served as the Musical Director for a recording in 1954 by John Serry, Sr.
    John Serry, Sr.

    John Serry, Sr. was a distinguished concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist and music educator who achieved prominence through his live performances on the Columbia Broadcasting System network....
    .


  • Became, post-retirement, a consultant to 3M
    3M

    3M Company , formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company until 2002, is an United States multinational corporation Conglomerate corporation with a worldwide presence....
     (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company), helping them during the transition from vinyl recordings to recordings on tape.