Pointer Sisters biography
The Pointer Sisters are an American R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over three decades, their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, disco, jazz, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country and rock.
The group had its early origins when sisters June and Bonnie Pointer began performing in clubs in 1969 as "Pointers, a Pair". The line-up grew to a trio when sister Anita Pointer joined them. They scored a record deal with Atlantic Records and released several unsuccessful singles. The trio grew to a quartet when sister Ruth joined in December 1972. They then signed with Blue Thumb Records, recorded their debut album, and began seeing more success. The group achieved its greatest commercial success as a trio during the 1980s consisting of the line-up of June, Ruth, and Anita. Bonnie had left the group in 1978 to commence a solo career with only modest success.
History
Early days
As children in West Oakland, California, the Pointer sisters and brothers were encouraged to listen to and sing gospel music by their parents Reverend Elton and Mrs Sarah Pointer. However, 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. They regularly sang at the Church Of God (Anderson, IN) in West Oakland, but as the sisters grew older their love of other styles of music began to grow. When June, the youngest sister, brought home a copy of the Elvis Presley record
All Shook Up, she was surprised that her mother allowed her to play it, until discovering that her mother had been pacified by the song "Crying in the Chapel" on the "B" side of the record.
After leaving school Ruth, the oldest sister, was already married with two children Faun (born 1965) and Malik (born 1966), Anita, the second oldest sister, also was married with a child Jada. Bonnie, the third oldest sister, and June sought a show business career and they formed a duo, "Pointers, A Pair". Later, Anita quit her job to join the group. They began touring and performing and provided backing vocals for artists such as Grace Slick, Sylvester James, Boz Scaggs and Elvin Bishop, and it was while supporting Bishop at a nightclub appearance in 1971, that the sisters were signed to a recording deal with Atlantic Records. The resulting singles that came from their Atlantic tenure failed to become hits but, nevertheless, the sisters were enjoying their newfound recording career. The temptation to join them finally overwhelmed Ruth and, in December 1972, she joined the group. The quartet signed to Blue Thumb Records and began to record their first full-fledged album.
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 music, jazz singing, and be-bop music. In searching of a visual style for their act, they remembered the poverty of their childhood and their ability to improvise, and used their experience to assemble a collection of vintage 1940s clothes from thrift shops, that would comprise their costumes and give them the distinctive look they were searching for.
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