A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory
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A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory Sixty years ago, Alfred A. Levy patented his “telephone hold program system.” Little did he know a teenager’s unearthed New Age practice tape would become its enduring anthem Leo DeLuca | Freelance writer July 24, 2026 12:00 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Hold music is an audible reminder that our time has value, just not always to the company keeping us waiting.
- ▪A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory Sixty years ago, Alfred A.
- ▪Levy patented his “telephone hold program system.” Little did he know a teenager’s unearthed New Age practice tape would become its enduring anthem Leo DeLuca | Freelance writer July 24, 2026 12:00 p.m.
- ▪ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Hold music is an audible reminder that our time has value, just not always to the company keeping us waiting.
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A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory Sixty years ago, Alfred A. Levy patented his “telephone hold program system.” Little did he know a teenager’s unearthed New Age practice tape would become its enduring anthem Leo DeLuca | Freelance writer July 24, 2026 12:00 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Hold music is an audible reminder that our time has value, just not always to the company keeping us waiting. Alice Adler/Getty Images Millions of people know “Opus No. 1” without knowing its name.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Smithsonian Magazine.
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