With her debut album Switched-On Bach, composer and electronic musician Wendy Carlos (b. 1939) brought the sound of the Moog synthesizer to a generation of listeners, helping to effect arguably one of the most substantial changes in popular music's sound since musicians began using amplifiers. Her story is not only one of a person who blazed new trails in electronic music for decades but is also the story of a person who intersected in many ways with American popular culture, medicine, and social trends during the second half of the 20th century and well into the 21st. There is much to tell about her life and about the ways in which her life reflects many dimensions of American culture.

Carlos's identity as a transgender woman has shaped many aspects of her life, her career, how she relates to the public, and how the public has received her and her music. Cultural factors surrounding the treatment of transgender people affected many of the decisions that Carlos has made over the decades. Additionally, cultural reception and perception of transgender people has colored how journalists, scholars, and fans have written about Carlos and her music for decades.

Author: Amanda Sewell
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 09/02/2020
Series: Cultural Biographies
Pages: 264
Weight: 1.1lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.50w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780190053468


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 12/01/2019 pg. 89
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2020

About the Author
Amanda Sewell is Music Director of Interlochen Public Radio. She holds a Ph.D. in musicology from Indiana University.