Wendy (Walter) Carlos and the Moog Synthesizer entry

Wendy Carlos (formerly Walter Carlos) is known for her recordings made on the Moog synthesizer in the 1960s.  She is a composer and electronic musician who achieved great success and was the person who really began to introduce electronic music to the world.  Back when Wendy began composing on the Moog synthesizer, it was a new and mostly unknown instrument.  She released an album entitled Moog900Series – Electronic Music Systems, which was released by the Moog Company as an introduction to the technical aspects of the machine.  This album did not have much significance on her musical career though.  She is best known for her album Switched On Bach, which was released in 1968.  This album demonstrated the use of the synthesizer as a legitimate musical instrument.  She pioneered the new synthesizer technologies and helped to boost its popularity.  The album went gold in 1969 and platinum in 1986.  Switched On Bach also won three Grammy Awards in 1969.  It was one of the first classical LPs to go gold and was the first ever classical music recording to go platinum.  The album featured the use of the Moog Synthesizer and involved critical multi track recording techniques in its production.

Through the years, Wendy Carlos has had a significant impact on increasing the popularity of the electronic music scene and has inspired many to begin creating their own electronic music.  She truly played a significant role in the exploitation of the synthesizer and was a key player in the development of early electronic music.  Carlos has not only influenced the electronic music directly, but has expanded her influence to the film industry as well.  She composed and recorded music for A Clockwork Orange and worked on The Shining as well.   Wendy also scored the 1982 version of Tron and Beauty and the Beast in 1986. 

Carlos is truly a significant figure in the electronic music scene and has had an immense influence on electronic music throughout the world.  She established the synthesizer as a musical instrument and proved that it could make a successful album.  In a time where the electronic instrument technologies were just starting to develop around the world, she was there to give it a boost into pop culture and music culture by inspiring musicians everywhere to make music with a synthesizer.  Her influence on the development of the Moog synthesizer is indisputable too.   Moog was known for taking recommendations and suggestions from artists who used their instruments to improve upon them.  Wendy Carlos is known for giving them many important suggestions that helped to increase the functionality and expand the image and usage of the instrument.  As a listener and industry professional, I completely respect her and her efforts and know that if it wasn’t for her, electronic music would have never evolved like it has.   Wendy has said that she created the album Switched On Bach to “legitimize synthesizers in the mainstream”, and that is exactly what it did.  It’s no surprise that she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) in recognition of her contributions to the art and craft of electronic music.