Robyn Archer began learning popular folk and country songs and appearing in variety shows at a young age. By her mid-teens she was a familiar face on The Country and Western Hour.

In this audio clip from the 1964 Country and Western Hour's television soundtrack, 15-year-old Archer (as 'Robyn Smith') sings a cover of Peter, Paul and Mary's ‘Rocky Road’.

Despite being a relatively inexperienced performer, the power of Archer’s voice in this early recording is unmistakable. Her simple acoustic guitar accompaniment allows the strength of the lyrics and the potency of her vocal performance to shine. While the musical style is certainly not one that Archer would become most known for, she has in later interviews credited these folk and country songs for more than just launching her career: their thematic content served as an early inspiration for her developing liberatory politics.

Read more about Robyn Archer and the Pack of Women