Hold music turns 60: from a patent to the sound of customer-service purgatory

Sixty years ago, Alfred A. Levy patented the telephone hold program system, laying the groundwork for hold music as we know it. The melody that became its enduring anthem turned out to be a New Age practice tape recorded by a teenager and accidentally left playing on a line. The piece traces the history of hold music from its patent origins to the ubiquitous soundtrack of customer service.