Heritage Edition – The Legacy of Wendy Carlos

Wendy Carlos, born in 1939, was a transgender musician and composer known for her film scores and work on the Moog Synthesizer (The Guardian). Carlos grew up with a keen interest in music and eventually studied music and physics at Brown. She also earned a master’s degree in music composition at Columbia University. Following her college years, she helped to develop the Moog Synthesizer, the first commercially available synth keyboard. The Moog synthesizer was an electronic keyboard that was able to create instrument-like sounds using signals. The technology used was revolutionary to the world of pop music for years after and is still used today. Many prevalent musicians such as The Beatles have used The Moog Synthesizer in their work. 

The first person to release music using the Moog, Carlos’ debut album, Switched on Bach (UMKC Roo News), was a compilation of original Bach songs performed on the Moog Synthesizer. Switched on Bach won three Grammys, and many credits it to their introduction to the world of synthesized music. 

Along with being highly influential in the music industry, Carlos also was revolutionary in the transgender and LGBTQ+ communities of the time. She related her music to her transgender identity, saying that those who are comfortable with all forms of music were open to the synthesizer, while others preferred the more classical and traditional forms of music. Comparing this to being transgender, she describes that “transsexuality, too, is an emotional, action-prone situation, in that it tends to polarize people, depending on the attitudes one brings to sexuality and human rights.” She came out as transgender in a 1979 Playboy Interview, making her name change and transition official. Worried she may have not been taken seriously after coming out, she hid her true identity for years. She even dressed up as a man for several of her live performances “for the sake of business” to ensure she would be taken seriously. In her interview with Playboy, she describes the intense gender dysphoria that came with dressing up as a man after living for years as a woman (“Digital Transgender Archive”). “I always felt, spiritually and psychologically, and intellectually, I functioned as a woman,” she said. Carlos also described in detail the feelings of dysphoria and isolation she felt in her college years. In these years, as she was learning more about herself and her identity, she was also becoming more masculine with puberty. She describes “hating her body” and never so much as looking into a mirror, unable to bear the sight of her reflection. As these feelings of self-hatred and loneliness became stronger and more prominent, Carlos began to have suicidal tendencies, and made a list of things she “needed to do to survive,” the most important one being “to find some doctor who would help [her] change [her] sex.” 

Following her sex change, Carlos discusses the highs and lows that came with assuring her identity. Although most of her close friends and family were accepting and welcoming, she experienced some criticism of her work after coming out. Although she was held at very high praise when presenting as a man, she lost respect after coming out. Despite the criticism, Carlos also was one of the first people to talk about the joy that comes with accepting yourself and your identity, inspiring many others to follow her lead and take pride in their identities, whether queer or not. Wendy Carlos was incredibly influential, and her legacy lives on today.