100 years ago: Ben Selvin hit #1 with “Dardanella” for first of 13 weeks

Dardanella Ben Selvin

Writer(s): Johnny S. Black and Felix Bernard (music), Fred Fisher (lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: January 24, 1920 Peak: 113 US, 11 GA, 13 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.5 (includes 2.0 in sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Ben Selvin (1898-1980) launched himself as a professional musician at age 15 playing fiddle in New York City nightclubs. SB Over his career, his 2000+ recordings rank him above any other bandleader. PM The Guinness Book of World Records estimates his output as high as 20,000 song titles, giving him the distinction of having recorded more musical sides on 78-rpm discs than any other person. WK Part of his prolific output was due to him recording for dozens of different labels at a time when the industry was at high growth. WK His bands featured such famous sidemen as Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman AMG and vocalists like Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters, and Kate Smith. AMG In addition to working as a musician and bandleader, Selvin was an innovator and record producer. WK He had his first chart hit, the #1 “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles,” in 1919 when he was still just a teenager. His biggest hit, an instrumental version of “Dardanella,” came the following year. Its continuous bass line helps it stand out. DJ-44 As the first song to sell over 5 million copies PM it became the biggest hit of 1920, CPM one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the 20th century, PM and the biggest-selling song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. SB Prince’s Orchestra, Harry Raderman’s Jazz Orchestra, and the duet of Henry Burr and Albert Campbell all charted with the song in 1920 as well. PM It was revived in 1949’s Oh, You Beautiful Doll, a biopic about the song’s lyricist, Fred Fisher. DJ-44 Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Ben Selvin AMG All Music Guide DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 44. SB Songbook1.wordpress.com PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 379, 490, and 631. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 35. WK Wikipedia.org First posted 1/24/2013; last updated 1/28/2023.

50 years ago: The Harmonicats hit #1 with “Peg O’ My Heart”

Peg O’ My Heart Charles Harrison

Writer(s): Alfred Bryan (words), Fred Fisher (music) (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 8, 1913 Peak: 17 US, 112 GA (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Peg O’ My Heart The Harmonicats

First Charted: April 26, 1947 Peak: 18 US, 112 GA, 110 HP (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards (Harrison): Click on award for more details.

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Awards (Harmonicats): Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Peg O’ My Heart” shares the rare distinction of having hit #1 on the pop charts four different times. Only this song and “Over There” have accomplished the feat. PM However, while “Over There” accomplished its task during 1917 and 1918, “Peg” spread its accomplishment out over 34 years. PM The song was inspired by a 1912 Broadway comedy called Peg O’ My Heart in which Laurette Taylor portrayed a “spunky Irish girl.” RCG Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher were inspired to write a song of the same name, dedicating the song to Taylor T and even releasing sheet music featuring her face. RCG The song was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1913 with Jose Collins singing. DJ Charles Harrison had the first chart success with the song, taking his version to #1 in 1913. Henry Burr and Walter Van Brunt also recorded top tens of the song in 1913-14. More than 30 years passed before the song resurfaced on the charts. In 1947, Buddy Clark, the Harmonicats, and the Three Suns each topped the charts with their versions – and all three appeared on the year-end top ten. CPM Art Lund, Ted Weems, and Clark Dennis all had top ten hits. PM However, the most successful was the instrumental version by the Harmonicats, a trend-setting harmonica group led by Turkish-born Jerry Murad. PM The song has also been recorded by Josephine Baker, Peggy Lee, Glenn Miller, Red Nichols, and Andy Williams, but it has become most closely identified with the Harmonicats and the harmonica. RCG The song has also been featured in the films Peg O’ My Heart (1933) and Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949). TY2 Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Charles Harrison DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Harmonicats DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 156. RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 298. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 102. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 66. First posted 6/21/2012; last updated 3/31/2023.