
Born in Santa Barbara, California, she graduated in 1956 from high school in Westchester, Los Angeles. In 1964, the same year that she arrived in the United Kingdom, she became the first solo folk performer signed to a major British record label, when she gained a recording contract with Decca Records. Within a decade she had a well-established career. In 1965 she was reportedly the first folksinger to fill the Royal Albert Hall, and was described by The Times as "Britain's First Lady of Folk".