A series of great  JAZZ Records from early Ragtime to Beb-Bop on 78 rpm Victrola Records

Two Early Fox Trots from 1923 Broadway shows by
Ben Selvin and His Orchestra

14532A SELVIN'S DANCE ORCH BAMBALINA 10894 - - 02/??/23 YOUMANS;STOTHART "WILDFLOWER"
14532B SELVIN'S DANCE ORCH ARGENTINE 10874 - - 02/??/23 KUHNEKE;GOODMAN;SMITH

Quiet BROWN WAX PRESSING 10" 78 rpm record

Condition:

Amazing LOUD acoustic recording with great Bass

EXCELLENT PRISTINE, plays E+ EXCEPTIONALLY quiet 

A CHOICE COPY


Wildflower or The Wildflower (as styled on the sheet music), is a musical in three acts with book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Herbert Stothart and Vincent Youmans. The plot concerns a pretty Italian farmgirl, Nina, who has a fiery temper. She stands to inherit a fortune provided that she can keep her temper under control for six months. If she fails, the money goes to her cousin Bianca, who tries to provoke her. She manages to do it, and gets the money, as well as her man, Guido. Several of the songs were published, among which "Bambalina" and the title song were the most popular. The musical proved to be Day's last Broadway show before moving to London.[1]

The original Broadway production at the Casino Theatre on February 7, 1923[2] and ran for 477 performances, closing on March 29, 1924.[3] "Wildflower was one of the biggest successes of the Twenties."[4] 

 Ben Selvin Orch 
b: , d. July 15, 1980, Florida, USA.


The extremely prolific Ben Selvin fronted thousands of recordings made for almost every label of the 1920s, holding Guinness' World Record as the most-recorded artist in history (his estimated output being somewhere between 13,000 and 20,000 songs). Music legends that played under his baton included The Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman and Eddie Lang, among others.


"Ben Selvin, combined his unique musicianship with a great business-sense. His career would span two generations. At one point in his career, he was recording for nine different companies, under nine different names. And, according to Joseph Murrell, 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. He was actually a "musical contractor" , - 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, Edgar Benson and Meyer Davis, etc., in the same business.)

In 1941 Ben was hired by James Caesar Petrillo, Head of the powerful Local 803 Musician's Union, to conduct a survey of the Recording industry and how it affected musicians. He reported that the industry was lucrative for the big bands and should be left alone. Petrillo did not follow his advice, and struck the industry anyway, and after a two year strike, won concessions from the recording industry. The big bands never recovered from this devastating strike.