sounds (and sights) of the nbc chimes

part one: announcements and hand–sounded dinner chimes

1924

national defense test day program, broadcast on September 12, 1924, illustrating the cumbersome method of announcing each participating station. It was the length of this practice that led to the use of a chime signal instead. This is from a linecheck recorded by Western Electric, whose parent company owned WEAF and the Broadcasting Company of America, over whose network this was broadcast. It is most likely an early electrical recording.

1925

WSB three note chimes, rung by Lambdin Kay. This is an acoustic talking machine record recorded by Columbia on January 29, 1925. The chime used is a tubular Deagan Military Dinner Call No 3003. The notes are F♯ 5 –A 4 –D 5 , pitched at A=430Hz.

1929–1930 seven note sequence

edison lights golden jubilee, broadcast October 21, 1929. The earliest known recording of NBC Chimes in any form. Aircheck recorded from WJZ New York, flagship station of NBC’s Blue Network, although the program itself was broadcast from 7:30pm to 8:30pm Eastern Time on both the Red and Blue Networks of NBC. The program was a remote broadcast from Dearborn, Michigan, but the Chimes were likely rung in New York. The announcer giving the NBC network system cue is Graham McNamee. The WJZ station identification is most likely given by Milton Cross.

coca–cola top notchers, synchronization break for mid–program station ID. Aircheck from WEEI Boston, March 26, 1930. This program was carried over NBC’s Red Network, and originated from WEAF in New York.

Both instances of the seven–note sequence are played on a Deagan No 200 dinner chime. Notes are G 4 –C 5 –G 5 –E 5 , followed by a repeat of G 4 –C 5 –E 5 , and pitched at A=435Hz. The final E is impossible to hear in the 1930 instance, and in the 1929 instance it sounds as though several chime plates are struck together at the end to form a chord.

1931 five and three note sequences

WTMJ Local Chime ID, broadcast February 4, 1931. This is a four–note local identification played on a Deagan No 400 dinner chime. Notes are A♭ 4 –C 5 –E♭ 4 –C 5 .

wendell hall, the pineapple picador, broadcast over WTMJ Milwaukee on February 4, 1931 and actually taken from the same recording that contains the WTMJ local chime sequence. A Deagan No 200 dinner chime is used. Notes are G 5 –G 4 –E 5 –C 5 –C 5 . According to historian Rich Samuels, this program was carried over NBC’s Red Network, and originated from WMAQ in Chicago. Contemporary advertising, however, seems to indicate that all Libby’s radio programming was done over the NBC Blue Network.

mary hale martin’s household period, a cooking program broadcast on an unknown date (but most likely January or February) in 1931. Aircheck recorded from WBZ–WBZA, NBC Blue Affiliates in Boston/East Springfield. A Deagan No 200 dinner chime is used. Notes are G 5 –G 4 –E 5 –C 5 –C 5 . This program originated from Chicago, most likely from WENR. According to a 1931 advertisement for Libby’s pineapple, Mary Hale Martin’s Household Period aired on Wednesdays at 10:00am Eastern Time, 9:00am Central Time, “over WJZ and associated N. B. C. stations”, which would make it an NBC Blue Network program.

the lucky strike hour, broadcast November 3, 1931. Walter Winchell introduces “that fella with the chimmies” announcing the synchronization break. This is the earliest known recording of the three–note NBC chime. Aircheck recorded from WEAF New York. A Deagan No 20 dinner chime is used. Notes are C 4 –A 4 –F 4 . Network announcer who rang the Chimes and gave the local WEAF ID is believed to be Alwyn Bach.

the black and gold room orchestra, broadcast date unknown but most likely sometime in mid to late 1931. The program was broadcast on Tuesday nights at 6:00pm Eastern over the NBC Red Network, and originated from the Black and Gold Room of the Central Park Casino, a high–society nightclub that catered to the millionaire crowd from its establishment under Mayor Walker in 1929 until its closure and demolition to make way for the Mary Harriman Rumsey Playground under Mayor LaGuardia in 1935. (SummerStage occupies the site today.) Aircheck recorded from WEAF New York. A Deagan No 20 dinner chime is used. Notes are C 4 –A 4 –F 4 .

1932–1933 three note sequence

amos & andy, broadcast on March 24, 1932. Originating at WMAQ, Chicago, this aircheck was recorded from WJZ New York on a Victor home recording blank. A Deagan No 20 dinner chime is used. Notes are C 4 –A 4 –F 4 .

the canada dry program, starring Jack Benny. Broadcast over NBC Blue on May 2, 1932. Aircheck recorded from WJZ New York. A Deagan No 20 dinner chime is used. Notes are C 4 –A 4 –F 4 . This was for years the oldest known recording of the three–note NBC Chimes, thus its inclusion here. The program originated in New York.

hollywood on the air. An example of the hand–struck NBC Chimes as they sounded on national broadcasts emanating from the West Coast. This example dates from September 30, 1933, and were probably sounded from NBC’s studios on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. A Deagan No 20 dinner chime is used. Notes are C 4 –A 4 –F 4 .

Until 1942, NBC’s West Coast switching operation was located in San Francisco. NBC had a token presence in Hollywood from 1932, but its programs were fed on a special link to the Chicago switching complex. Hollywood did not become a full–fledged point of origin with switching capability until 1937, when NBC expanded network operations along the West Coast.

NBC Announcer Kelvin Keech strikes the three tone NBC Chimes on the Deagan No 20 Dinner Chime. Clip from the 1933 Paramount short Captain Henry’s Radio Show, which gave movie audiences “a picturization” of the popular radio program Maxwell House Show Boat, as performed in the studios at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York—but without any references to Maxwell House Coffee, and, curiously, with no appearance by Captain Henry in his eponymous film! (Actual release date is unknown, but the film was copyrighted on August 9, 1933.)

1939–1943 three note sequence

the grand ole opry®, broadcast on November 4, 1939. The Grand Ole Opry® began a long run on NBC on October 14, 1939, with half an hour going out on NBC radio from the stage of first the War Memorial Auditorium, and from 1943 the Ryman Auditorium.

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum has an online archive that contains broadcasts from 1939 through at least 1960. Hand–struck chimes are sounded at the end of these broadcasts at least through 1945 that this writer has observed. It is unclear as to where they were sounded, but it seems likely that it was from an announce booth at the main studios of WSM rather than from the stage. A Deagan No 20 dinner chime is used in every such instance. Notes are C 4 –A 4 –F 4 .

1944 the fourth chime

The Fourth Chime on D–Day, first occurrence. From NBC live coverage of D–Day, June 6, 1944. This four chime signal was flashed at 3:19am to prepare news personnel for the developing story of the D–Day invasion. A Deagan No 400 dinner chime is used, and an inverted signal of C 5 –E♭ 4 –A♭ 4 –A♭ 4 is sounded. The final note continues in a loop due to circuit feedback, which created an unintended reverberation pattern.

The Fourth Chime on D–Day, second occurrence. From NBC live coverage of D–Day, June June 6, 1944. This signal was sent at 3:29am, immediately before the Morse Code “V For Victory” signal was sent—a confidential code confirming that the D–Day invasion had actually begun. A Deagan No 400 dinner chime is used; the A♭ 4 chime plate is struck four times.

The Fourth Chime on November 24, 1944, opening The Fourth Chime, a special NBC News program highlighting the use of The Fourth Chime as a signal during five years of coverage of the Second World War. The custom three–note handheld chime is used. Notes are G 4 –E 5 –C 5 –C 5 .

The Fourth Chime on November 24, 1944, closing The Fourth Chime, a special NBC News program highlighting the use of The Fourth Chime as a signal during five years of coverage of the Second World War. The custom three–note handheld chime is used. Notes are G 4 –E 5 –C 5 –C 5 .

part two: the rangertone chimes machine

and the electromechanical chimes

1932–1950

the texaco fire chief, starring Ed Wynn. This is believed to be the earliest recording of the Rangertone Chimes machine. The aircheck dates from October 18, 1932. The program originated in New York.

The Rangertone Chimes. Invented and built by Captain Richard Ranger and his Rangertone Corporation, with technical modifications by NBC Engineers. This very clear example is taken from a linecheck recording of the NBC Chimes in New York from 1937.

The Rangertone Chimes, taken from a linecheck recorded April 25, 1948. This has less surface noise, but the Chimes themselves seem less distinct.

The all–electronic chimes, which were developed by NBC engineer J. L. Hathaway for outdoor NBC Chimes installations, and used vacuum tubes rather than a mechanical mechanism to produce their sound. They went into occasional use in 1941, alternating with the Rangertone chimes. By the late 1950s these had completely replaced the Rangertone chimes on network broadcasts, as they were cheaper to procure and simpler to maintain. This example is from a linecheck recorded January 25, 1953.

“Buy War Bonds”. The Sonovox system, in which the output of a sound recording is routed to a throat–contact microphone worn by an announcer, was used to set the phrase “Buy War Bonds” to the famous NBC Chimes. In this case, the electronic version of the Chimes, whose speed could be controlled, was used. This example was broadcast on January 24, 1944.

part three: modern recordings of classic chimes

hand–struck deagan dinner chimes

The Seven Note NBC Chime as heard in 1929.

The Seven Note NBC Chime as heard in 1930.

The Five Note NBC Chime as heard in 1931.

All of the above were played by me on a Deagan No 200 dinner chime.

The Three Note NBC Chime as heard from 1931 to 1933, played by me on a Deagan No 20 dinner chime.

The (inverted and single–note) Fourth Chime as heard on D–Day, June 6, 1944, played by me on a Deagan No 400 dinner chime.

The Fourth Chime (preceded by the normal three–chime notes) as heard during their eponymous program on November 24, 1944, played by me on the custom three–note Deagan dinner chime.

the rangertone chimes machine

Perhaps the only known video of the Rangertone Chimeless Chimes in operation at NBC. Aired May 12, 1986 to commemorate NBC’s 60th anniversary year.

The Rangertone Chimes Machine as normally heard, with the signal damped after the last note sounds. Digital audio recording made in 2010 by Mark Aceto

The Rangertone Chimes Machine with harmonic damping disabled, leaving the notes to decay naturally. This was done by actually disconnecting the motor after the last note was struck, so you’ll hear a slight blip when that happened. Digital audio recording made in 2010 by Mark Aceto

the nbc chimes in popular culture

films and commercial recordings

“radio riot”, a Max Fleischer Talkartoon originally released by Paramount on February 13, 1930. About 30 seconds into this cartoon, right as the title cards end, the camera irises in on a radio speaker horn that gives off the seven–note NBC Chimes—absolute proof that, at least in New York where Fleischer cartoons were made, the public was presumed to be familiar with the NBC chime sequence of that period. (The title sequence song is a play on the “How Do You Do, Everybody, How Do You Do?” theme song used by Billy Jones and Ernest Hare; its lyrics were regularly adjusted to reflect their current sponsor, but always ended with “how do you doodle–doodle–doodle–doodle–do?”.)

“crosby, columbo and vallee”, a song bemoaning the popularity of radio crooners Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo, and Rudy Vallee. This version was recorded by Dick Robertson and His Orchestra (vocalist Dick Robertson singing with American Record Company’s in–house studio musicians) on December 11, 1931, and released as Perfect 12772b (mx 11063–3). The song ends cold, and then the three C 4 –A 4 –F 4 notes are played—demonstrating that the public was expected to understand the aural reference to NBC’s three–note chime even though it had been in use for less than a year by that point.

“announcer’s blues”, written by Frankie Trumbauer and Harold Stokes. This version is by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra and features Tram soloing on his C–melody saxophone, and a trombone solo by Jack Teagarden. The song has the G E C notes running as a theme throughout. Victor 25404 (mx bs–94197–1), recorded September 7, 1935.

“nbc polka”, written by Kurt Maier and recorded by Joe Biviano with the RCA Victor Accordion Orchestra. It was issued as RCA Victor 20–3388–a with a violet label indicating a specialty series; beyond that, I have next to no information about the composition or the record.

self–referential appearances on nbc radio

“i love you (three little tones)”—I don’t think anybody knows what this is actually called; nothing even resembling a possible title turns up in ASCAP’s ACE database. It’s very clearly a paean to the three–note NBC Chimes, but other than a general presumption that it dates from the 1930s, nothing else is known. Not the singer, not the orchestra, not the circumstances. This could be from a broadcast, but I’m more inclined to believe it was some sort of demo or test recording done in New York, either at NBC or at Victor.

That this song was known about in the 1970s is evident by the fact that it opened the first episode of Season Four of “Saturday Night Live” on October 7, 1978. Garrett Morris sang the vocal, with backing by Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin, and Gilda Radner. Musical director Howard Shore (yes, that Howard Shore) conducted the orchestra and most likely arranged the piece for SNL.

the march of chimes. Here’s a fun oddity that was never broadcast, nor intended to be. Announcers and effects engineers at KFI in Los Angeles put this together; the label describes it as “KFI ‘March of Time’ Gag Pgm (program) For NBC Party”, and carries a recording date of October 5, 1938. This pastiche takes the form of (and aim at) the format of the popular news magazine program the march of time, but intersperses it with gentle funmaking of the NBC Chimes, and the apparently ever–decreasing time for spot announcements between their sounding and the beginning of the next program. The (very likely recorded) music, coming from successively higher floors of the mythical Elks Hotel in Placerville, is attributed to Meredith Willson, who was the musical director for several west coast NBC programs, and a Deagan No 21 does chime duty, sounding C 4 –A 4 –F 4 for the familiar three–note chime as well as the very high F 5 at the upper end for the faux time signal.

Among the persons portrayed (“Any similarity to persons alive or dead or employed by NBC is purely coincidental on purpose”) are NBC founding president Merlin Aylesworth, KFI/KECA owner Earle C. Anthony and executive Harrison Holloway, NBC west coast program director John Swallow, NBC west coast announcers Clinton “Buddy” Twiss and Walter “Chum” Bunker, Jr., and NBC east coast announcer Milton Cross. (As noted elsewhere on this site, the NBC Chimes were always rung by NBC network announcers.) A gentle evisceration of the equipment of NBC parent Radio Corporation of America is also tossed in, and the recording ends with a spoof of the then–current promotion of small tubular NBC Chimes sets for the home, for which $2.95 was charged. Both the household chimes and the “RCA All The Way” advertising line were currently being promoted in RCA advertising in Life.

The actual introductions to three current NBC programs are briefly heard, sounding as though they were recorded in the control room from the monitor speakers. The programs are Johnny Presents (with Johnny Roventini heard calling for Philip Morris over the theme song “On The Trail”), Fibber McGee & Company (this being the title when Marian Jordan, who played Molly, was taking a hiatus) with Harlow Wilcox’s introduction over the theme “Save Your Sorrow (For Tomorrow)”, and Amos & Andy, with the title tersely announced by Bill Hay before the plaintive strains of “The Perfect Song”. Additionally, there are fake spot announcements for real products: Marmola, a laxative–and–thyroid weight loss pill; Bulova Watches, a timepiece manufacturer that is still in business today; Tick–Tock, one of many of the colorful Artlarm series of windup clocks manufactured by the New Haven Clock Company; and Lifebuoy, a deodorant soap that was at one time redolant of phenol and carbolic acid.

This writer will note that correspondence between the New York, Chicago, and Hollywood NBC offices concerning the punctuality of the Chimes, and whether they should be controlled automatically, was fairly involved all through 1938 and into 1940. This situation may have had some influence on the production of this particular satire. Additionally, the March 5, 1945 issue of Broadcasting carried a notice that NBC was lengthening the post-Chimes interval break from 20 seconds to 30, noting that a recent affiliates’ meeting had disclosed that “about 30% of the network’s stations did not use the chimes at all and most of the others only some of the time, because the 20–second interval did not leave sufficient time for a local chain–break announcements [sic]”, which indicates that affiliates were, in fact, free to drop the network feed after the audible “National Broadcasting Company” system cue, removing the sound of the Chimes entirely.

As noted elsewhere on this site, KFI and its sister station KECA were the only NBC affiliates in a major metropolitan area that were not owned by NBC. Because of this, and because NBC did not permit imitation of the NBC Chimes by non–owned stations (a rule that would eventually be relaxed in the 1940s, with recordings of the Rangertone chimes being provided on lacquer discs to affiliates for local use), it should be understood that the material on this record is not material that would have ever been broadcast on KFI. It was made solely for the enjoyment of whoever was present at this NBC party.

The NBC Chimes were sometimes referred to as “bells”, as heard on this excerpt from the circle, a roundtable program sponsored by Kellogg’s that ran on NBC from January 15, 1939 until July 9, 1939. The program presented itself as a club, with various members (all luminaries of stage and screen) taking turns as officers; in this excerpt from January 22, 1939, after the Chimes sound at the half–hour synchronization break, President Ronald Colman calls on Beadle Cary Grant to explain the reason the “bells” exist. Grant explains that it’s to provide the station identification required by law, and then sings the pertinent FCC regulation to the accompaniment of the orchestra, which is conducted by Robert Emmett Dolan. Carole Lombard chimes in, so to speak, at the end.

special thanks to: (in alphabetical order)