The Pointer Sisters Artistfacts

1969-
Anita Pointer1969- 2015
Bonnie Pointer1969-1977
June Pointer1969-2002
Ruth Pointer1972-
Issa Pointer2002-
Sadako Pointer2009-
The Pointer Sisters are a vocal group from Oakland, California. They have released music in various genres, including pop, rock, jazz, funk, R&B, bebop, blues, northern soul and country, but are best known for their energetic and upbeat disco and dance-pop hits like "I'm So Excited," "Jump (For My Love)" and "Automatic."
The Pointer Sisters originated when sisters June and Bonnie began performing in clubs in 1969 as "Pointers, A Pair." The lineup expanded to a trio later in the year when sister Anita quit her job as a secretary to join them. From then on, they called themselves The Pointer Sisters.
The trio grew to a quartet when sister Ruth joined in December 1972. The Pointer Sisters signed with Blue Thumb Records, and released their self-titled debut album, along with their first hit single, "Yes We Can Can," in 1973.
They broke barriers in country music with their 1974 song "Fairytale," written by Anita and Bonnie and recorded in Nashville with session players who gave it some twang. They became the first Black female group to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville when they sang it there on October 25, 1974. When the song won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group in 1975, they became the first Black female group to win a Grammy in a country category.
Bonnie left The Pointers in 1977 to pursue a solo career. She scored several moderate solo hits, including a disco cover of the Elgins' "Heaven Must Have Sent You," which peaked at #11 in 1979.
Their greatest success came in the 1980s as the trio of June, Ruth, and Anita. They racked up six Hot 100 Top 10 hits between 1980 and 1984 and won Grammy Awards for "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)."
The Pointer Sisters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
June left the group in 2004 and Anita in 2015; both passed away from cancer, June in 2006 and Anita in 2022.
June, Ruth, Anita and Bonnie's older brother, Aaron Pointer, was a Major League Baseball player and later a referee in the National Football League.

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