The Windows 95 reboot chime, which played when computers using the operating system were turned on or rebooted, has been added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
The chime was recorded by ambient musician Brian Eno, who is also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band Roxy Music.
The chime was selected because Microsoft Windows 95 “brought more of the computer’s operation under a graphical user interface (GUI), making a home computer more accessible to a non-specialist audience of consumers,” the Library of Congress said in its announcement of the new registry entries.
Other recordings added to the registry for 2025 include albums, music singles and broadcasts significant to American history.
For example, the registry now includes broadcaster Chuck Thompson’s radio call of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees, famously won on a walk-off homer by Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski.
Albums added include Chicago’s 1969 “Chicago Transit Authority,” Elton John’s 1973 “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker’s 1975 “I’ve Got the Music in Me,” and the Steve Miller Band’s 1976 “Fly Like An Eagle.”
Singles added to the registry include Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic,” Helen Reddy’s 1972 hit “I Am Woman,” Freddy Fender’s 1975 “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” and a 1913 recording of the Hawaiian folk song “Aloha ’Oe,” written by the last Queen Liliʻuokalani, the islands’ last monarch.
“The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation, including iconic music across a variety of genres, field recordings, sports history and even the sounds of our daily lives with technology,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a release.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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