Pointer Sisters Legend Passes Away Aged 74

Anita Pointer, founding member of the multi-decade supergroup passed away in her Los Angeles home on Saturday night.

Pointer’s sister Ruth, brothers Aaron and Fritz and granddaughter Roxie McKain Pointer released a joint statement following the tragic news.

“While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter, Jada and her sisters June and Bonnie and at peace. She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so long. Her love of our family will live on in each of us. Please respect our privacy during this period of grief and loss. Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita there.”

The Pointer Sisters formed as a duo in 1969, with Anita Pointer joining her sisters Bonnie and June in 1970 to form the early lineup of the group. The band signed to Atlantic Records in 1971 with their first hit Yes We Can Can arriving in 1973 along with their sister Ruth joining the band to create a quartet. With their early hits in the country genre, the band won their first Grammy in 1975 for Best Country Performance. In the same year the band launched into R&B with their hit How Long (Betcha Got A Chick On The Side) becoming a global smash, later to be sampled by Salt n Pepa. 

The group re-set in 1977 with both Bonnie and June leaving the group before June joined again and the group continued as a trio, into what was to be the most successful period in their career. The 80s were a massive time for the sisters, having hit after hit across the world. They had seven massive hit singles on both sides of the Atlantic, with Australian audiences sending no less than nine songs into the top 20 including I'm So Excited, Jump (For My Love) and Neutron Dance. 

The group featured on USA For Africa's We Are The World in 1985 and continued releasing studio albums right up until the early 1990s. In 2003 Girls Aloud took their cover of Jump (For My Love) to #2 in the UK, igniting interest in the group once more. The group continued to perform live with Anita retiring from the group in 2016 due to poor health. The group continued touring lead by Ruth along with Issa and Sadako, Ruth's daughter and grandaughter, including a trip to Australia in 2020. 

The sisters were inducted into the vocal group Hall of Fame in 2005.