Ben Selvin
Ben Selvin (1898-1980), son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, started his professional life at age 15 as a fiddle player in New York City 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, he had recorded what is universally regarded as the first popular recording ever to sell a million copies. That recording, Dardanella, eventually went on to sell more than 5 million copies and some 2 million pieces of sheet music.
In addition, according to The Guinness Book of World Records and many other sources, he is acknowledged as having recorded more musical sides (on 78-rpm discs), than any other person, living or dead. One reason for this prolific output is that he recorded for dozens of different labels during this high-growth time in the industry, using a different name (or slightly different name) on each label.
During his six-plus-decade career in the music industry he:
- Was Musical Director of Majestic Records beginning in 1947.
- 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 and Buddy Clark in the late '40s and early '50s.
- Was an A&R Director at RCA Victor in charge of the company's popular Camden Label.
- Became, post-retirement, a consultant to 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company), helping them during the transition from vinyl recordings to recordings on tape.
- He became known in his industry as The Dean of Recorded Music.