The Pointer Sisters

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The Pointer Sisters are an American Grammy Award-winning Pop/R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over three decades together, their repertoire has included diverse genres as pop music, R&B, jazz, bebop, country, soul, funk, dance, new wave and rock.

The group originally comprised three sisters when Anita joined her younger sisters Bonnie and June in 1969 after they had been performing as "Pointers, a Pair". The line-up became a quartet when eldest sister Ruth joined the group in 1972 before they recorded their debut album. They achieved their greatest commercial success later as a trio after Bonnie left the group to commence a solo career.

History

Early days

As children the girls were encouraged to sing gospel music by their parents Reverend Elton and Mrs Sarah Pointer, but in their household they were told rock and roll and the blues were "the devil's music", and it was only when they were away from their watchful parents that they could sing these styles of music. They regularly sang at the church but as they grew older their love of other styles of music began to grow. When June brought home a copy of the Elvis Presley record All Shook Up, she was surprised that her mother allowed her to play it, until she discovered that her mother had been pacified by the "B" side of the Presley record "Crying in The Chapel".

After leaving school it was Bonnie who sought a show business career, and she convinced June to join her to form a duo, "Pointers, A Pair". Shortly after this, Anita quit her job to join the group. They began touring and performing and provided backing vocals for such artists as Grace Slick, Sylvester James, Boz Scaggs and Elvin Bishop, and it was while supporting Bishop at a nightclub appearance that the sisters were signed to a recording deal with Atlantic Records in 1971. The resulting singles that came from their Atlantic tenure failed to win an audience but the sisters were enjoying themselves, and the temptation to join them finally overwhelmed Ruth. Before they began to record their first album, the trio had become a quartet, in which afterwards they signed with David Rubinson's Blue Thumb record label.

Upon signing, they agreed that they did not want to follow the current trend of pop music, but wanted to create an original sound that combined jazz, scat and be-bop music. In searching for a visual style they remembered the poverty of their childhood and their mother's ability to improvise, and used their experience to assemble a collection of vintage 1940s clothes from various thrift shops, that would comprise their costumes and give them the distinctive look they were searching for.

In 1972, they were asked to record Pinball Number Count, a series of educational cartoons, teaching kids how to count. It made its debut on Sesame Street in 1977 and was a feature on Sesame Street for many years.

They made their debut performance at the Troubador nightclub in Los Angeles in May 1973 and the reaction from the crowd was enthusiastic. Shortly after they made their television debut on The Helen Reddy Show.

First success as recording artists

File:PointerSisters1973.jpg
The Pointer Sisters on the cover of their debut album, which was released in 1973 and yielded the hit "Yes We Can Can".

Their self titled first album, was released in 1973 and received positive reviews, with the group being lauded for their versatility and originality. The first single from it, a funk cover of "Yes We Can Can", reached number 11 on the pop charts, and would go on to establish itself as an R&B classic. The Allen Toussaint penned song had been a small R&B hit for Lee Dorsey in 1970. The album's second single was a cover of Willie Dixon's Blues stomper "Wang Dang Doodle". It reached the R&B top 40 and the group's thrift shop style began to catch on with fans, many of whom would attend their shows in similar attire.

The following year they released their second album titled That's a Plenty. It continued in the jazz and be-bop style of its predecessor but provided one exception that caused a great deal of interest. The song "Fairytale" written by Anita and Bonnie was a country song, and reached number 13 on the pop charts, and number 37 on the country charts. Based on this success the group was invited to Nashville, Tennessee where they achieved the rare distinction of becoming the first black female singers to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. In 1975 the group won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Fairytale" , and Anita and Bonnie were nominated as songwriters for the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. The song would later be covered by acts such as Elvis Presley.

Their third album, and arguably best, was released in 1975. Steppin' produced their Grammy-nominated number one R&B single, "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)", which was later sampled by female rap icons Salt 'N' Pepa a decade later. They also scored another R&B hit from the album with "Going Down Slowly", a further Allen Toussaint cover, and in 1976 appeared in the classic blaxploitation film Car Wash. "You Gotta Believe" from the movie made the R&B top 20 in early 1977.

Their last album as a quartet was the Jazz/Funk album Having a Party, released in 1977. Although a later favorite of the group's fan base, it sold poorly due to a lack of promotion from both ABC/Blue Thumb and the departing Sisters. It did feature the Bonnie led "Don't It Drive You Crazy" which would become a cult hit in the UK in the new millennium.


The quartet becomes a trio

File:PointersEnergy2.jpg
The Pointer Sisters on the cover of their 1978 album, Energy, which revived their popularity with their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire".

By 1977, both Bonnie and June had left the group. Bonnie went on to sign a contract with Motown Records, and this led to a brief successful solo career. Her first self-titled album produced the Disco classic "Heaven Must Have Sent You". The album was produced by Jeffrey Bowen and Berry Gordy.

Now a duo, the remaining sisters cut back their schedules and concentrated on raising their families. As they did so, they began talking about the future of the group and what direction it should take. Unsure of what style to follow, they unanimously agreed to dispense with the 1940s nostalgia that had become their image.

They signed with producer Richard Perry's Planet label, distributed by Elektra Records. After inviting her to contribute vocals on the group's cover of Sly Stone's "Everybody Is A Star", Richard Perry convinced June Pointer to return to the group. With Perry the trio began working on an album of west coast soft rock which was released in 1978 with the title Energy. The first single, a cover version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" climbed to number two on the US singles charts in early 1979, and a third Allen Toussaint cover, "Happiness", also charted well.

In 1979 they released an album with a harder edged Rock sound titled Priority, and while it was not a huge commercial success, it received very positive critical reviews and further strengthened the group's reputation for being truly versatile.

The height of their success

Over the next few years they achieved their greatest commercial success and continued to demonstrate their versatility. In 1980 the soulful pop single, "He's So Shy", reached number three on the charts, and the following year a slow, sultry, country and western flavoured ballad, "Slow Hand", reached number two. The follow-up, "Should I Do It" was classic girl-group. Perry switched distribution of Planet to RCA in 1982. The first release from this new union was "American Music", a patriotic themed modernised take on the girl-group sound while "I'm So Excited" was an influential frenetic dance track. All these singles were significant hits in the US and were also successful in Australia, where all but "American Music" reached the Top 20.

The Pointer Sisters on the cover of their landmark release, Break Out. Released in 1983, the album would go on to become the group's biggest seller to date.

In 1983, the Pointer Sisters released what became their biggest-selling album ever with Break Out. With the advent of MTV the sisters were able to exploit their visual style and extend their audience. In 1984 they achieved four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in a row. "Automatic" reached #5, "Jump (for My Love)" reached #3, a remix of "I'm So Excited" was added to the album almost a year into its shelf life and reached #9, and their single from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, "Neutron Dance", reached #6.

"I Need You" had been the lead single from the album, and was a significant R&B hit, peaking at #13 on the Black Singles charts. The album's last single, "Baby Come And Get It," did well on the Black Singles charts too but missed cracking the pop Top 40 by a hair. It would be brought to life in the next millennium through its use in a television commercial. They received Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Jump (For My Love)", and Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices for "Automatic". These songs also followed "Slow Hand" into the UK Top 10, with "Automatic" peaking at number 2 behind Duran Duran's "The Reflex".

These Planet singles marked the end of their run of Top 10 hits in the US, with their subsequent RCA releases "Dare Me" in 1985 (the Sisters' last Australian Top 10 hit), and "Goldmine" in 1986, reaching numbers 11 and 33 respectively.

The sisters eventually left RCA Records to record for Motown and SBK, releasing several group albums and individual solo albums along the way, but these projects did not achieve the level of success they had earlier attained.

Subsequent years

In recent years they have maintained a lower public profile but have continued to perform. They entertained US troops in the Persian Gulf in 1991 with Bob Hope. In 1994 they were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and began touring with a production of the Fats Waller-based musical Ain't Misbehavin'. In 1995 Pointer Sisters recorded "Feel For The Physical" as a duet with Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking fame) for his album Souled. They were also one of the featured acts at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. In 2004, June Pointer had to leave due to health problems; she was replaced by Ruth's daughter, Issa, and the group continues to perform. They made a 2005 holiday recording Christmas In New York, featured on YMC Records' Smooth & Soulful Christmas Collection, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard AC Charts. The sisters were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

In recent years many Pointer Sisters songs were covered by contemporary artists, such as "Jump (for My Love)" by Girls Aloud, which reached number 2 at the UK singles chart in 2003, "Dare Me" was turned into the dance smash "Stupidisco" by Belgian DJ Junior Jack, indie band Le Tigre covered in 2004 "I'm So Excited" on their third album This Island, and French DJ Muttonheads sampled "Back In My Arms" on his 2005 club hit "I'll Be There". Most recently in 2007, Tommy Boy recording artist Ultra Naté has released a dance-pop cover of "Automatic" that reached #1 at the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. In 2005, "Pinball Number Count" was re-edited for Coldcut's Ninja Tune label, becoming a surprise dance hit. The same song has also been remixed by Venetian Snares of the Planet Mu record label.

The band is currently experiencing a successful revival in Europe due to their performance at the annual Night of the Proms, a highly successful series of concerts combining pop and classical music, taking place in the Benelux, France and Germany. The group received the highest audience ratings of all participating Night of the Proms acts in 2002. In addition, their collaboration with Belgian pop star Natalia on "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves," placed them on the charts in Europe (the single peaked at #2 in the Belgian charts) and resulted in ten sold out dates in Antwerp in January 2006 with the "Natalia Meets The Pointer Sister" concerts, selling out 130.000 tickets for the 10 date concert run.

On June 7th, 2006, Anita guest-starred on Celebrity Duets singing with Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson on "I'm So Excited".

Tragedy and Controversy

In 2001, the sisters lost their beloved mother Sarah, two years later in 2003, sister Anita, lost her only child Jada to cancer. On April 11, 2006, June Pointer died of lung cancer at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. According to an official family statement she was surrounded by her sisters Ruth and Anita as well as brothers Aaron and Fritz at the time of her passing. Later in 2006, sister Bonnie appeared on Entertainment Tonight saying the other sisters had not fulfilled the burial wishes for June, instead having her cremated because it was cheaper. Bonnie also stated the sisters had not let her ride in the family car at the funeral. Anita and Ruth responded that Bonnie had demanded to be let back in the group and that June had left no instructions for her burial. The sisters seemed estranged from Bonnie until she joined Anita Pointer on the Idol Radio Show in 2007. That archive is still available at www.IdolRadioShow.com

Discography

Further information: Pointer Sisters discography

US, UK and Australian Top 40 singles

The following singles reached the Top 40 of either the United States pop singles chart, the United States R&B singles chart, the United Kingdom pop singles chart, or the Australian ARIA charts.

Year Song title Billboard Pop Top 40 Cash Box Pop Top 40 Billboard R&B Top 40 UK Top 40 Aus Top 40 Album
1973 "Yes We Can Can" 11 10 12 - - The Pointer Sisters
1974 "Wang Dang Doodle" - - 24 - - The Pointer Sisters
1974 "Fairytale" 13 19 - - 30 That's a Plenty
1975 "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)" 20 17 1 - - Steppin'
1975 "Going Down Slowly" - - 16 - - Steppin'
1976 "You Gotta Believe" - - 14 - - The Best Of The Pointer Sisters
1978 "Fire" 2 2 14 34 7 Energy
1979 "Happiness" 30 28 20 - - Energy
1980 "He's So Shy" 3 3 10 - 11 Special Things
1980 "Could I Be Dreaming" - - 22 - - Special Things
1981 "Slow Hand" 2 2 7 10 5 Black & White
1982 "Should I Do It" 13 16 - - 16 Black & White
1982 "American Music" 16 15 24 - - So Excited!
1982 "I'm So Excited" 30 33 - - 9 So Excited!
1983 "I Need You" - - 13 251 - Break Out
1984 "Automatic" 5 8 2 2 15 Break Out
1984 "Jump (For My Love)" 3 6 3 6 8 Break Out
1984 "I'm So Excited" (Remix) 9 10 - 11 - Break Out
1984 "Neutron Dance" 6 10 13 31 4 Break Out
1985 "Baby Come And Get It" - - 24 - 29 Break Out
1985 "Dare Me" 11 12 6 17 10 Contact
1985 "Freedom" - - 25 - - Contact
1986 "Goldmine" 33 31 17 - - Hot Together
1988 "He Turned Me Out" - - 39 - - Serious Slammin'
1990 "Friends' Advice (Don't Take It)" - - 36 - - Right Rhythm
  • 1The song did not chart on its original UK 1983 issue but was reissued in 1984 after Automatic and Jump (for my love) became top 10 hits.

The Billboard Pop chart is compiled with points awarded for both sales and airplay whereas the Cash Box chart reflected sales only.

US and UK Top 40 albums

See also

External links

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