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 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 the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music."Dardanella" sold more than six million copies and an additional million pieces of sheet music.It 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.