Elwood Edwards, the voice behind AOL's 'You've Got Mail,' dies at 74

"You've got mail."

For decades those three words were heard billions of times over by anyone who received a message through AOL, a phrase that became synonymous with the dial-up era of the internet.

Elwood Edwards, the man behind the voice of AOL, passed away Tuesday at the age of 74 following a long illness, according to his former employer, WKYC news in Ohio.

Edwards worked at the news outlet for years as a "graphics guru, camera operator, and general jack-of-all-trades," WKYC said.

USA TODAY reached out to the station for more information.

In 1989, fewer than 50% of American adults had ever even used a modern computer. But that was the year that Edwards, who had done periodic commercial voiceover work since high school, got a small gig for a company that his wife worked at, Quantum Computer Services, USA TODAY previously reported.

The company became American Online and later AOL. Edwards' wife volunteered her husband's services after overhearing future AOL CEO Steve Case talk about adding a voice to some upcoming software.

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On a cassette tape in their living room, Edwards and his wife recorded four phrases − "Welcome," "You've Got Mail," "Files Done," and "Goodbye" − in exchange for $200, according to WKYC.

Those seven words, though, soon became an integral part of a burgeoning America Online, earning Edwards' voice a permanent spot in the annals of the internet.

Edwards continued working in television production in Ohio. His voice, of course, remained a minor celebrity in its own right throughout the years.

In 2000, according to IMDB, he lent his famous voice to an episode of "The Simpsons," and in 2015 he appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" as well as a 2022 Shopify add campaign.