[N.B.C trade releases]. (1964)

2 _ NBC Chimes NBC’s petition to patent the chimes had the distinction of becoming the first audible trademark filed with the U. S. Patent Office. The Patent Office describes the chimes in the following "legalese" — "A sequence of musical chime-like notes which in the key of C sound the notes G, E, C, the G being the one just below Middle C; the E the one just above Middle C, the C being Middle C, thereby to identify the applicant’s broadcasting service." In 1932 the chimes were electrified, doing away with the announcer striking the tones. During the late 1930’ s, several railroads incorporated the familiar tones as dinner chimes, to inform passengers that food was being served in the diner. A composer named Kurt Maier wrote a musical composition titled "The NBC Polka," the polka adopted from the three notes. The selection was first played on NBC-TV in 1949, In 1951, in a musical tribute on NBC’s 25th anniversary, Meredith Willson composed "Three Chimes of Silver." Charles R. Denny, then Executive Vice President, proclaimed the number the network's official Silver Jubilee song. The NBC Chimes were not always used solely to indicate a station break. A fourth C note has been rung to alert members of the NBC News Department that an emergency was in progress and for them to report to the newsroom immediately. The chime alert was first used in 1937 when the dirigible Hindenburg exploded. It was used again in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was "bombed and again in 1944 when the Allies invaded Europe. While the NBC Radio Network still plays the chimes at station breaks, the NBC Television Network has orchestrated the notes as back¬ ground for a visual presentation at the station break. But the "Bing, Bong, Bing" goes on, in superb tone for a 38 year-old. o NBC-New York, 6/12/64