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The song you've heard a thousand times was a teenager's practice tape
Tim Carleton recorded 'Opus No. 1' at 16 as a practice demo, and a childhood friend persuaded him to submit it to Cisco as its default hold music.
Tim Carleton wrote 'Opus No. 1' at 16 in 1989, then shelved it as a forgotten practice demo. His childhood friend Darrick Deel, later working at Cisco, persuaded Carleton to submit it as the company's default hold music on a lark.
Cisco rolled it across its global phone systems and the forgotten tape became one of the most ubiquitous pieces of modern music.
- 16 in 1989
- Written at age
- Fairfield, California
- Recording location
- Yamaha DX7 synthesizer
- Instrument used
- Cisco's global phone systems
- Distribution scope
Why it mattersNext time you're put on hold, you'll know that familiar tune playing across phone systems worldwide started as a teenager's forgotten demo.
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