[5] In 1989, Edwards's wife, an employee for online service Q-Link, overheard company CEO Steve Case describe how he wanted to add a voice to its user interface.

His greetings include "Welcome", "You've got mail", "You've got pictures", "You've got voicemail", "File's done", and "Goodbye", all recorded in his own living room on a cassette deck.

[8] On the March 4, 2015, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Edwards appeared on screen to read phrases which were meant to be humorous.

[10][11][12] On September 16, 2019, Edwards and his AOL story were featured on the podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz in an episode entitled "You've Got Mail".

[16] Elwood Hughes Edwards Jr. was born in Glen Burnie, Maryland, on November 6, 1949, and grew up primarily in North Carolina, first in Beaufort and then in New Bern.