NBC Chimes

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Music, Design, Arts, Music Commentary

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 November 2016

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

NBC’s three little chimes didn’t just define a television network, they defined a generation. Where did they come from and what is the surprising impact they have had on current and future media? Featuring the last person to play the NBC chimes on the NBC radio network, broadcaster Rick Greenhut, and radio historian, John Schneider. 20K is made out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor. Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/nbc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to 20,000 Hertz.
0:03.2	The stories behind the world's most recognizable
0:05.4	and interesting sounds.
0:07.0	I'm Dallas Taylor.
0:08.6	This is the story behind the most famous sound
0:10.7	and broadcasting.
0:12.7	This is the national broadcasting company.
0:15.4	For being only three tiny notes, the NBC Chimes have had a colossal impact on media and
0:30.7	culture for nearly 90 years.
0:32.5	It was back in the late 1920s when NBC started using this for the first time to identify
0:37.2	itself on the radio.
0:42.4	They became so iconic and so popular that they became the first sound to ever be awarded
0:52.0	an audio trademark.
0:53.0	And that's hard to get.
0:54.9	Take for example, the Harley-Davidson engine sound.
0:59.1	After six years of litigation and challenges for other companies, they withdrew their application.
1:04.0	Courts also denied Motorola's request to trademark its chirp.
1:07.7	Saying that, among other things, they didn't do a good enough job promoting it as an actual
1:11.8	soundmark.
1:13.3	Budweiser even tried to trademark the sound of an opening beer can.
1:17.3	I think I'm going to go with the courts on this one.
1:23.7	So there are only about a hundred sounds that have actually officially become US trademarks
	...

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