Roslyn Kind explains why she recorded ‘Save the Country,' recalls 'Saturday Night Live' performance

Roslyn Kind — Keith Munyan

It was 1968 when Roslyn Kind, Barbra Streisand’s kid sister, first heard Laura Nyro’s “Save the Country” during a period of political unrest — and she says the song is now more relevant than ever.

This is why she decided to include it in her upcoming album, due sometime in 2019. There’s an urgency for our country to come together and heal, she said, and Kind hopes to encourage her message of hope through song, all while introducing herself to new, curious listeners.

Kind, 67, spoke to Fox News about being discovered as a teenager, performing on “Saturday Night Live” and standing out on her own as an artist.

Fox News: What can audiences expect from your upcoming album?
Roslyn Kind: Right now, I’m trying to do things a little differently. It’s definitely going to include that familiar sound of mine, but I am working with a different style. I’m really into healing right now. I really want to bring people together. I want to heal the world, if at all possible. I’m only one little voice, but every voice matters. The world is such in a horrifying state right now. It needs healing. People have to start coming together again.

Fox News: You were a teenager when you first heard ‘Save the Country’ in New York City. How much did that song impact you at the time?
Kind: It was very impactful. This was during the ‘70s and the Vietnam War. The meaning of it, getting together, that idea of bringing people together really meant something to me as a teenager. But I never took on the song myself until years later. And I never really did record it. But it just seems so appropriate to put out a song like that one now. It has a new style. The arrangement is really out of the box, but it’s still very uplifting and positive.

I really want to just see the world come together. Let’s heal each other, let’s heal the planet. That’s really all I want to do right now. Hopefully, by expressing that, there will be a positive reaction. Again, I’m just a little voice, but I feel so deeply about it. I want to see healing. I want to see people being treated right. I want to see fairness in the world. I wish we can go back to bartering *laughs*. The world would be so much better off if we weren't so focused on power.

Roslyn Kind (Courtesy of Roslyn Kind)

Fox News: You previously said that these lyrics are even more relevant than ever. 
Kind: It’s only because of the chaos that’s going on all over the world and the issues we're currently faced with. The non-acceptance of it all. I was born and raised in a melting pot city. In my childhood, I was always raised to be good and welcoming to strangers and those who were less fortunate.

We were always taught to give back to charity, even with the little that we made. There are so many things wrong with the world now and they need to be made right. I want to see everybody in the world happy, healthy and getting along with each other.

Fox News: Some artists are wary of getting political due to fear of dividing their audiences. How important has it been to get your message out there?
Kind: I’m very passionate. I’ve always had a thing about wanting harmony, peace and love in the world. I’ve always had in my heart that it would be wonderful if we all had unconditional love. What the world needs right now is love and I’m not afraid to express that message. That’s where I’m at. I want everybody to come to a loving place.

Roslyn Kind during Roslyn Kind Opening, 1969 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. (Getty)

Fox News: You recorded your first album on the afternoon of your high school graduation. How did you receive such a huge opportunity at a young age?
Kind: Simply, I was brought to audition. I wanted very much to perform as a kid. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Truthfully, when I was very young, I thought I was going to be a math teacher *laughs* but that went out the window. I had a weight problem, so that kept me from thinking about going into performance. But I lost it, I got past it, and soon enough I was told ‘Hey, you want a career?’

And I really wanted to sing. That never left. But at that age, I still needed growth and experience in life. But really, that opportunity came because I was brought to companies for auditions. RCA then said they wanted to give me an opportunity. On the morning of June 1968, I graduated high school. By that afternoon, I was in RCA’s studio recording my album. I couldn’t quite believe it myself.

Fox News: You were a musical guest on ‘Saturday Night Live’ back in 1977. What was it like?
Kind: It was scary. I mean, I had been performing long by then, but this was different. My [then] brother-in-law (Elliott Gould) was hosting, so that made it even more exciting, just to have family there. I was nervous, for sure. It was national television. But remember, I started on Ed Sullivan and that was national television too. And that was on a Sunday night during a snowstorm. It was February 1969. I walked from where I lived to the Ed Sullivan Theater in the storm because there were no taxis. So that was scarier *laughs*.

(Keith Munyan)

Fox News: You’re no stranger to the music business. However, has it ever been frustrating for you as an artist to be compared to your sister?
Kind: I think years ago [it was], when I was trying to find my way, because people immediately compared me when I was just starting out. They were comparing me to my sister and all the years of experience she had behind her. I thought that was unfair. I always knew it wouldn’t be easy, going into the same area as my sister. She’s phenomenal. She’s the one and only. I admire her immensely. I look up to her. And I love her deeply. So I wouldn’t say it bothers me today.

I’m proud of her. I mean, I used to be the president of the Barbra Streisand fan club when I was a kid in school *laughs*. I used to go to Manhattan one day a week and work at the office. But really, I’ve gone beyond that now. There might be some people that still compare me or just know me as Barbra’s sister. But it really doesn’t bother me now because I feel I have a better footing of who I am for several years now. In the 1980s, I did a soul search… I really had to understand why I am here and what my purpose in this life was.

I believe in a higher self and that we all come from a greater being… In my search, I came to an understanding of what I was supposed to do on this earth and why I’m here. That gave me much more insight into who I am as a human being and a greater excitement of going after what it is that I wanted to accomplish in this world in a positive way.