Jane Barbe

Jane Barbe has one of the most recognized voices in the U.S. even though few know who she is, because she made the recordings long heard by telephone callers when they dialed a number "no longer in service."

Barbe started making announcements for the Audichron Company[?] in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1960s, annoncing time, temperature and weather as well as sponsors' messages. In the 1970s and 1980s she made recordings used when a number was disconnected or no longer in service. She has also recorded the National Bureau of Standard's time signal message.

The recordings are part of an automated intercept system[?] which replaces generic recordings with custom messages, such as repeated the number dialed and then giving a new number if the original had been changed. The first automated intercept systems used rotating drums containing multiple recorded phrases, with a computer or mechanical control system playing phrases in the proper sequence.

Barbe, a former professional singer who once toured with the Buddy Morrow Orchestra[?], has gained a small notoriety in recent years appearing in commercials and on television shows as the "Time Lady".