J. FRED COOTS (1897-1985) was a song plugger, pianist, vaudeville headliner, and composer. His mother wanted him to become a concert pianist but he heard the call of Tin Pan Alley. His first song was "Mister Ford, You've Got the Right Idea," written in 1917 when Henry Ford offered to send a peace ship to Europe in an effort to end WWI. His work in vaudeville included writing material for specific performers, one of whom was Sophie Tucker. He composed three Cotton Club Revues and became a staff composer for the Shuberts, writing songs for many musicals and revues. His Broadway successes include "Sally, Irene and Mary" (1922) with lyricist Raymond Klages, "Artists and Models" (1924 and 1925), for which he wrote the music, and "Sons O' Guns" (1929), a nostalgic comedy based on Army life for which he wrote both music and lyrics. It was on stage from Nov 26, 1929 till Aug 9, 1930, Imperial Theatre, NYC. Among his songwriting credits are "Doin' the Raccoon", lyric by Raymond Klages (1927), "I Still Get a Thrill (Thinking of You)," written with Benny Davis in 1930, "Precious Little Thing Called Love", lyric by Lou Davis and "Love Letters in the Sand" (1931), with lyricists Nick and Charles Kenny (which became a pop hit for Pat Boone in 1957). A collaboration in 1934 with Sam M. Lewis produced the lovely "For All We Know" (not to be confused with the recording of the same name by the Carpenters) which has been covered by such artists as Nina Simone, Nat "King" Cole, Rod Stewart .... + Informações

The 1929 Talkie ?The Trespasser" was Edmund Goulding melodrama with Gloria Swanson (in her first ?ALL TALKING picture"), Robert Ames, Purnell Pratt and Henry B. Walthall. )The producer Joseph P. Kennedy was the father of Joe, John, Bobby, and Teddy Kennedy, and had a well publicized love affair with Gloria Swanson for many years). She originally hired writer/director Edmund Goulding to help her complete ?Queen Kelly", the unfinished silent epic she'd started with Erich von Stroheim. After he'd spent months editing Von Stroheim's footage, Goulding persuaded Swanson to make ?The Trespasser" -- based upon DH Lawrence's novel, instead. He wrote the script in three weeks, the movie was in theaters by the end of the year, and Swanson recouped enough money to pay off ?Queen Kelly"'s backers. The film tells the story of a "kept woman" who maintains a lavish life style with the help of her lover. It earned an Academy Award nomination for Gloria Swanson in her talkie debut and was a smash hit for its superstar, Gloria Swanson. (In 1937, Goulding remade the film as That Certain Woman with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda). Sadly for Swanson, ?The Trespasser" proved to be her only hit talkie. Subsequent followups like ?What a Widow!", ?Indiscreet", ?Tonight or Never", ?Perfect Understanding" and ?Music in the Air" all proved to be box-office flops. Despite the disappointments following ?The Trespasser", Swanson will be forever remembered as Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's masterpiece .... + Informações

Celebrating a new American chapter: HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN! Happy days are here again The skies above are clear again Let us sing a song of cheer again Happy days are here again Altogether shout it now There's no one Who can doubt it now So let us tell the world about it now Happy days are here again Your cares and troubles are gone There'll be no more from now on, Happy days are here again The skies above are clear again So, let us sing a song of happy cheer again, Happy, happy, happy days Are here again! Here's more from Wiki: Happy Days Are Here Again" is a song copyrighted in 1929 by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics). The song was recorded by Leo Reisman and His Orchestra, with Lou Levin, vocal (November 1929), and was used in the 1930 film Chasing Rainbows. Today, the song is probably best remembered as the campaign song for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (FDR) successful 1932 Presidential campaign. Since FDR's use of the song, it has come to be recognized as the unofficial theme of the Democratic Party. The lyrics suggest optimism and buoyancy. Matthew Greenwald characterized it, "A true saloon standard, Happy Days Are Here Again is a Tin Pan Alley standard, and had been sung by virtually every interpreter since the 1940s. In a way, it's the pop version of Auld Lang Syne."[1] The song is #47 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Century". One of the most influential recordings of the song was made 33 years after its .... + Informações

Selvin's Novelty Orchestra - Dardanella, Victor 1919 NOTE: "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. Band conductor Ben Selvin (1898-1980) led into the 1920s with his hit version of Dardanella. The song held the No. 1 spot on the US charts for 13 weeks, and sold a seemingly incredible five million copies.[ Its chorus is: "Oh sweet Dardanella, I love your harem eyes, I'm a lucky fellow to capture such a prize, Oh Allah knows, my love for you And he tells you to be true, Dardanella, Oh hear my sigh, my Oriental, Oh sweet Dardanela, prepare the wedding wine, There'll be one girl in my harem, when you're mine. We'll build a tent Just like the children of the Orient". + Informações

Ben Selvin and His Orchestra (The Knickerbockers) - I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight, Columbia 1925. + Informações

Ben Selvin combined his unique musicianship with a great business-sense. He was recording for nine different companies, under nine different names. He recorded over nine thousand different selections (Bing Crosby was his nearest competitor with 2700 numbers recorded). Ben started his career in the early 1920s and his orchestra played for two generations. He was a musical contractor and a band agent. He would supply orchestras for society dances, one night stands, recording studios and for special engagements. (There were many other leaders, such as Sam Lanin, in the same business.) Ben was also an avid real estate investor. On with the Show! 1929 is historically important in cinema history as the first modern sound film photographed entirely in Technicolor. This film was promoted in 1929 terms as a 100% 'talkie', meaning that it had synchronised speech. (Prior to this The Cavalier (1928), was technically the first feature length sound completely in Technicolor, but only had music and sound effects with silent title cards, and would be regarded as a silent film by viewers today). Warner Brothers promoted 'On With the Show!' as being in "Natural Color." The pioneers of sound were the first to introduce sound combined with color. Adverts proclaimed 'Now color takes to the screen'. It generated much interest in Hollywood and virtually overnight, most other major studios began films shot in the process. The film would be eclipsed by far greater success of the second .... + Informações

Ben Selvin & His Orch., voc. Jack Palmer - You're The Cream In My Coffee (Lyrics and Music by BG De Sylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson), Columbia 1928. + Informações

Dancing With Tears In My Eyes Words by Al Dubin Music by Joe Burke Performed by Ben Selvin and His Orchestra Vocal refrain by Ruth Etting Recorded May 15, 1930 Ben Selvin (1898 - 1980) was the recording director at Columbia records. Still in his thirties, Selvin already had nearly two decades in the music business as a violinist, an orchestra leader, a songwriter, a music contractor, a radio conductor and a recording artist. His 1918 rendition of "Dardenella" is said to be the first record to sell more than a million copies. As recording director for Columbia Selvin organized sessions for popular singers like Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters and Kate Smith and produced dates by studio groups that were sometimes released under his own name, sometimes under pseudonyms as The Columbia Photo Players and The Midnight Minstrels. He was also supervised many of Benny Goodman's early recording sessions, featuring Tommy Dorsey, Manny Kline, Adrian Rollini, Rube Bloom and Eddie Lang. Ruth Etting (1897 - 1978) was born in David City, Nebraska. She attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts; originally intended to be a fashion designer; At 17 she got a job in a Chicago night club working on costumes. Debut in chorus of revue at the Marigold Gardens Theatre, Chicago, 1925. She sang on early radio eventually winning title of "Chicago's Sweetheart." New York stage debut in the 1927 edition of Ziegfeld Follies (New Amsterdam), August 16, 1927. Appeared in the same theatre, December 4, 1928, in .... + Informações

This fantastic NYC hot dance orchestra plays the great hit of the late 1920s. Info about Ben Selvin can be found in his earlier clips in my site. Recording: The Knickerbockers (Ben Selvin Orchestra), voc. Irving Kaufman - Rosy Cheeks (Simmons/Whiting), Columbia 1927. + Informações

Ben Selvin (March 5,1898 - July 15,1980), son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer 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 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, the "Novelty Orchestra," Selvin released the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. That single, Dardanella, eventually went on to sell more than 5 million copies and an additional 2 million pieces of sheet music. 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 .... + Informações

recorded 8/22/1930 vocal by Irving Kaufman. + Informações

My Sweet Tooth Says I Wanna (But My Wisdom Tooth Says No) Words and Music by Sam Stept, Sidney Clare and Joe Young Performed by Ben Selvin and His Orchestra Vocal refrain by The Pickens Sisters Recorded July 14, 1931 Columbia 2501-D Ben Selvin (1898 - 1980) was the recording director at Columbia records. Still in his thirties, Selvin already had nearly two decades in the music business as a violinist, an orchestra leader, a songwriter, a music contractor, a radio conductor and a recording artist. As recording director for Columbia Selvin organized sessions for popular singers like Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters and Kate Smith and produced dates by studio groups that were sometimes released under his own name, sometimes under pseudonyms as The Columbia Photo Players and The Midnight Minstrels. He also supervised many of Benny Goodman's early recording sessions, featuring Tommy Dorsey, Manny Kline, Adrian Rollini, Rube Bloom and Eddie Lang. The Pickens Sisters, Grace, Jane and Helen, came from Macon Georgia. Taught by their mother to harmonize from childhood, they arrived in New York with a striking sound and extensive musical training but no experience in the style and delivery of popular music. They were singing old-fashioned songs at a party when they were discovered by Stella Karn, a radio publicity woman who took them to Vincent Lopez, who helped arrange auditions for Victor Records and NBC radio. They made records for Victor between 1932 and 1934 and were often heard on .... + Informações

The great depression hit the US (and soon most of the rest of the world) with sickening speed in 1929. Lives were turned upside down as unemployment soared to 35% and the good times and prosperity of the 1920s were lost to generations. Deja vu. Politicians were certainly premature in telling voters in 1930 that prosperity was just around the corner. By 1933, the situation had grown even worse thanks to inept politicians. The US wouldn't lose its "depression" until the 1940s when WWII caused a huge uptick in unemployment as the war machine revved up. Throughout the 1930s, popular music and movies continued to depict optimism and better days as those who could afford a movie ticket or record sought a brief few minutes of escapism from their mundane and boring lives, a hard pill to swallow after living in the roaring 20s.. + Informações

Ben Selvin & His Orchestra, vocals: Paul Small, Helen Rowland - You Said It, Columbia 1931. + Informações

(Note: be sure to click on the watch in "HD" option for better sound and picture.) ....and then click the full frame button.. + Informações

One of my favorite '20's dance band records! Charted at #8 in 1927. Released under the name, "The Knickerbockers". Recorded July 25, 1927. Also recorded by Annette Hanshaw, among others. Written by Sidney Clare, Lew Pollack and Harry Richman. The other side of this record is "Roam on My Little Gypsy Sweetheart".. + Informações

Vocalion recording No. B15038 was made by Ben Selvin and His Orchestra on May 13, 1925. The record is being played on my 1914 Victor Victrola IV.. + Informações

Written in 1930, this now-familiar Rodgers & Hart tune was originally dropped from the Flo Ziegfeld-produced musical "Simple Simon" but was later popularized by British star Jessie Matthews in the play (and later motion picture) "Evergreen." 78rpm courtesy of Rick's Vault: Columbia 2618-D - Dancing On The Ceiling (Rodgers -Hart) by Ben Selvin & His Orchestra, vocal by Chester Gaylord. Recorded 1/29/32.. + Informações

Cloverdale Country Club Orch. (Ben Selvin), voc. Dick Robertson - Cuban Love Song (Fields/McHugh), Okeh 1931. + Informações

Ben Selvin & His Orchestra - Dancing In The Dark, Columbia 1931. + Informações

Who's Sorry Now? Words: Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby Music: Ted Snyder Performed by Irving Kaufman, accompanied by Ben Selvin's Orchestra Recorded April 1923 Vocalion 14558 Irving Kaufman (1890 - 1976) was a prolific early twentieth century singer, recording artist and Vaudeville performer. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he was a member of The Kaufman Brothers, along with his brothers Phillip and Jack. He recorded heavily in the 1920s and 1930s with many bands and on many record labels, also under his own name. Strong theatrical voice somewhat along the lines of Al Jolson and Harry Richman, and he had perfect pitch, known to sing without special arrangements thus was in high demand for records. Sang with Avon Comedy Four pre-1920 and in early 1920s. Worked occasionally with singer-brother Jack Kaufman. Radio shows included Broadway Vanities (1934), Lazy Dan (1935), own series. Less active by late 1930s. Radio transcriptions in 1946, probably last recordings. Ben Selvin (1898 - 1980) was the recording director at Columbia records. Still in his thirties, Selvin already had nearly two decades in the music business as a violinist, an orchestra leader, a songwriter, a music contractor, a radio conductor and a recording artist. His 1918 rendition of "Dardenella" is said to be the first record to sell more than a million copies. As recording director for Columbia Selvin organized sessions for popular singers like Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters and Kate Smith and produced dates .... + Informações

The Knickerbockers (Ben Selvin & His Orchestra) - An Eye-ful Of You, Columbia 1929 This is my re-uploading of the clip that for unknown reasons disappeared a month ago from my archives.. + Informações

Ben Selvin (March 5,1898 - July 15,1980), son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer 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 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, the "Novelty Orchestra," Selvin released the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. That single, Dardanella, eventually went on to sell more than 5 million copies and an additional 2 million pieces of sheet music. 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 .... + Informações

Ben Selvin (March 5,1898 - July 15,1980), son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer 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 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, the "Novelty Orchestra," Selvin released the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. That single, Dardanella, eventually went on to sell more than 5 million copies and an additional 2 million pieces of sheet music. During the Columbia era, herecorded 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 .... + Informações

Ben Selvin (March 5,1898 - July 15,1980), son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer 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 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, the "Novelty Orchestra," Selvin released the biggest-selling popular song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. That single, Dardanella, eventually went on to sell more than 5 million copies and an additional 2 million pieces of sheet music. 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 .... + Informações