AOL users are certainly familiar with the wonderful voice they hear each and everyday, "Welcome, You've Got Mail." This "Voice" has become my close friend and I'm sure millions of AOL users would agree. We count on this Voice to be there to tell us we have mail. How many times have you logged on and your heart beats just a little faster as you wait to hear The Voice say, "You've Got Mail", and the email is from that special someone you may have met or from a close friend or family.
Life is very unpredictable but for me hearing The Voice is the calm in my day, the one thing I can depend on. No matter what happens in my life, good or bad, I know my AOL friend will always be there for me.
One evening as I was logging on and waiting for my AOL friend to tell me that I had mail I began to wonder. Who is the person behind the voice?Does he know how important he has become in my life and I'm sure in the lives of millions of people? I wondered if this was simply a computer generated voice and not human. I set out to find the truth as if I were hunting for a long lost friend.
My hunt began my emailing sources in the media. Did anyone know who this was? Where he came from? How he got to be The Voice? I did learn that the voice is a real person but I was unsuccessful in securing his location. My next attempt was a source at AOL. After a few days of research my hunt was over. I found him!
I was excited to email my friend and tell him how much I depended on hearing his voice and if I may do an interview to reveal who he is to all his AOL friends. He agreed and told me his story.
I am pleased to announce today on Elites TV that the voice of "You've got mail" is Mr. Elwood H. Edwards, Jr. (aka El Edwards). He lives in Orrville, Ohio. He became the Voice of "You've got mail" in 1989 because of his wife Karen.
El met his wife, Karen, in a chat room on Q-Link for Commodore-64 computers in early 1987 (Q-Link was the online software of Quantum Computer Services, now known as America Online. They were married in 1988.
Karen was a customer service rep for Quantum and in 1989, she overheard a discussion regarding the addition of a voice to the company's then-upcoming AOL v1.0 for the Mac.. Karen asked them, "Why don't you try El?".. and they did. In his living room, El recorded the now familiar phrases, "Welcome, You've got mail, File's Done, Goodbye" on a portable battery operated cassette deck. The AOL (Quantum) programmers digitized the phrases and it was on the first installation disks of the AOL software. His voice has remained integral to the branding of America Online, continuing to be installed by default when the software is installed.
In 1999, he recorded "You've got pictures", which was added to the software for their new photo feature.
El's voice was also used in the hit Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie, "You've Got Mail" and has been heard on numerous TV shows as well. El has been very proud to have been chosen to be The Voice and has become known as the "You've Got. Guy!
El stated that he receives very touching emails that mother's have reported that their baby's first sentence was "You've got mail". Also many dogs go to the front door when a user logs off and hears, "Goodbye". And people have met their true love and emailing was the crucial part of their growing relationship.
I asked El if he knows how many lives he has touched, and he stated that he is aware that millions of people hear his voice each day but he can't even begin to imagine the impact! He is just proud to be The Voice. His license plate is: UV GOT ML.
El works as a News Graphics Supervisor at WKYC, Cleveland and is also looking to expand his voiceover career.
