The ubiquitous ringtone – another one of those omnipresent features of modern life. And how far you’ve come, young ringtone. What started out as a collection of monophonic squeaks and squeals became a multi-billion dollar industry, almost overnight. Believe it or not mobile phone ringtones have been around for over a decade now, with the first commercial ringtone services said to have emerged with the Nokia mobile phones of early 1997. Gradually, they have become an established part of modern life with some of them becoming headline news over the years.
So as we look back over the history of ringtones, a few stand out as the “big hits” or “classics”. Though there are very few established lists of the top-selling ringtones of all time, we’ve tried to put together a list of the 10 most ‘influential’ (ie. Everywhere!) – of all time.
10. Crazy Frog
It was always going to be on here somewhere, so let’s get it out of the way first. The “Crazy Frog” ringtone was based on an animation called “The Annoying Thing” by Erik Wernquist, and made famous by the mobile content company Jamba who heavily promoted “The Crazy Frog” on TV and the internet. The ringtone spawned a chart hit based on a remix of “Alex F” which went to No.1 in the UK, Japan, Australia and a number of European countries.
9. Ridin’
Ridin’, Chamillioniare’s hit single of 2006 rocked the ringtone world. It sold the most ringtones ever to that point topping out at over 2.3 million sold, which actually eclipsed the amount of singles sold from the same single. “Ridin’” was awarded “Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group” at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. It was also nominated for Best Rap Song. Number 91 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
8. Sir Mix-a-lot
In 1992, Sir Mix-a-Lot, a rapper had a huge hit with “Baby Got Back” which was re-recorded as a ringtone with the lyrics “Pick up the phone! Pick up the phone! ‘Cause you don’t wanna miss this call and I cannot lie!.” This was one of the first “ringtone remixes” of popular songs to achieve success after being marketed by Jamba, the same company that produced the Crazy Frog ringtone.
7. iPhone ringtone
When Steve Jobs announced the launch of the iPhone in early 2007, his demonstration included a ringtone, which was quickly made available as a recording by a number of websites. The ringtone has been described as like “holy angels tinkling” and was eventually included within the standard ringtone set on the iPhone.
6. Eminem – Lose Yourself
Eminem’s Oscar winning song from the soundtrack of 8 Mile. As millions knew instinctually, the instrumental at the beginning made for the ideal ringtone buildup before the epic head-nodding audio explosion began. When this played you didn’t want to answer the phone. That was my excuse, anyway.
5. Classic telephone ring
With the rise of personalised tones a lot of people have decided to avoid them in favour of the classic “bell ringing” sound of a normal telephone. A number of surveys over the years have shown this to be one of the most popular tones.
4. CTU Ringtone
The popular TV show “24” features a highly recognisable ringtone on the phones in the CTU office complex. The same sound is now being marketed as a ringtone for mobile phones and is rapidly becoming a big hit.
3. Super Mario Brothers Theme
Created by Koji Kondo, the Japanese composer and musician best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo. This is the number one selling ringtone ever in Japan, and set the benchmark that all annoying video game based ringtones aspire to.
2. Mr T. (Pick Up Yo’ Phone, Fooo)
Many things in life defy explanation. This is one of them. Do yourself a favor and find it. Truly, hours of fun.
1. Nokia Tune
The Nokia Tune, based on a 13 note rendering of “Gran Vals” by Francisco Tarrega, a 19th-century Spanish musician, is typically included within all Nokia handsets as the default ringtone and has therefore become famous or infamous due to its popularity. It is the typical ringtone of the middle-aged business man who hasn’t got the time or inclination to work out how to change it.
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