June 16, 2025

Bebe Barron

Bebe Barron (June 16, 1925 – April 20, 2008) and Louis Barron (April 23, 1920 – November 1, 1989) were pioneers in the field of electronic music. The American couple is credited with writing the first electronic music for magnetic tape composed in the United States, and the first entirely electronic film scorefor the MGM movie Forbidden Planet (1956).

Bebe Barron was born as Charlotte May Wind in Minneapolis on June 16, 1925, the only child of Ruth and Frank Wind. She studied piano at the University of Minnesota and a post-graduate degree in political science. In Minneapolis, she studied composition with Roque Cordero. She moved to New York, and worked as a researcher for Time-Life and studied musical composition. She studied music with Wallingford Riegger and Henry Cowell. She married Louis Barron in 1947. They lived in Greenwich Village. It was Louis who nicknamed her “Bebe”. She died on April 20, 2008, in Los Angeles.