Anita Pointer, a founding member of the Pointer Sisters, passed away on Saturday, according to her family. She was 74 years old.
“While we are very grieved by Anita’s passing, we are comforted by the knowledge that she is now at peace with her daughter Jada and sisters June and Bonnie,” her family wrote in a statement. “She was the one who kept us all together and close for so long. Her affection for our family will endure in each of us… Heaven is a more beautiful and caring place with Anita present.”
Roger Neal, Pointer’s publicist, stated that the Grammy winner died surrounded by family.
Ruth, Anita, Bonnie, and June, daughters of a pastor who also had two elder sons, grew up in Oakland, California, singing in his church. The quartet performed a unique combination of funk, soul, 1940s-style jazz, scat, and pop, often dressed in a manner reminiscent of their predecessors, the Andrews Sisters.
Before releasing their self-titled debut album in 1973, they served as backup singers for Taj Mahal, Boz Scaggs, Elvin Bishop, and others. “Yes We Can Can,” a funky hymn asking for unity and tolerance, became their breakthrough smash.
They then released “That’s A Plenty,” which incorporated a variety of musical styles including jazz, gospel, and pop.
They even explored country music. Bonnie and Anita co-wrote the song “Fairytale,” which is about a romance in decline. The song landed them a landmark spot as a rare African American act at the Grand Ole Opry and their first Grammy for outstanding country vocal performance by a group.
Bonnie Pointer quit the trio in 1977 and signed with Motown Records as a solo artist. Her three sisters, who were on the verge of disbanding when she left, reformed, ditched their retro image for a modern pop sound, and became one of the most popular acts of the 1980s, with successes such as “He’s So Shy,” “Jump (For My Love),” and “Neutron Dance.”
»Anita Pointer, Pointer Sisters founder, dies at 74«