Here is the true story about the Sosumi beep, Mac startup sound, and other sounds I created at Apple. So many myths and urban legends about these sounds. I kept my secret about Sosumi for a decade after leaving Apple. I feared if the truth were known it would be removed. I’m more happy than anyone could imagine these sounds I created are still around.

Sosumi Beep

Listen to the Sosumi beep

I was interviewed for a documentary about the history of the Macintosh in San Francisco. They gave me free beer too!

Sadly, my favorite scene was deleted in the final edit of the movie. Fortunately, I found this clip on the cutting room floor. Here I am, telling the real story behind the urban legend of the infamous Sosumi beep sound on the Macintosh.

This clip is from the movie: Welcome to Macintosh. In the next video below I tell a more complete version of the story.

Mac Startup Sound

Listen to the Mac startup sound

In an interesting twist of irony (and I do love irony) the Sosumi sound came about due to a trademark dispute. My most famous sound is now an officially an Apple trademark (what took them so long?). A sound trademark is rare. Some of the few examples are the 20th Century Fox orchestral fanfare, the NBC chimes (which also happens to be based on a C-Major chord), or the THX “deep note.”

The final chord of the Beatle’s “A Day In The Life” is an amazing moment, and was a key inspiration for my Mac startup sound.

Here’s another interview at a coffee shop near my home. If you jump to the 13:15 mark, I tell the story of how I created the Mac startup sound.

At 24:35 I tell the more complete story about the Sosumi beep, and the context of the new sounds I added to Mac System 7.

Mac and iPhone Camera Sound

Listen to the camera sound

One of the other sounds I created for the Mac is the one you hear when you take a screen shot (press Cmd-Shift-3). This is also more well-known as the sound you hear when taking a photo on the iPhone and iPad.

It is a recording of my trusty old Canon AE-1 from the late ’70s.

The Designer of Apple’s Most Iconic Sounds

This last video has become a favorite. CNBC contacted me asking if they could come to my house and ask some questions about what I had done while at Apple. I got to show off my music room filled with vinyl records, a didgeridoo, and reveal the instrument I used to create the Mac startup sound.

Articles About The Apple Sounds From Jim Reekes

I’ve been collecting the many articles about my work over the years. I’m always surprised by how much this list continues to grow, and how interesting people are in hearing these stories.