Anita Pointer, a founding member of the pop group covering the genre, died Saturday at the age of 74. Her publicist, Roger Neal, said he had battled cancer for a long time.
The Pointer Sisters helped define the sound of the early ’80s with a sultry electronic sound and brassy R&B approach. The group showed their range on such records as the original “I’m So Excited” and a Bruce Springsteen cover of “Fire”. Anita Pointer has been integral to the group’s success, writing and performing many of their most famous songs. Her imprint is spread throughout the group’s work: a song on their debut album is named after their daughter, Jada, who died in 2003.
With Anita’s death, Ruth Pointer becomes the last living member of the four siblings who made up the original Pointer Sisters. Ruth joined the now-established trio in 1972.
Ruth, along with her two brothers Aaron and Fritz, and her granddaughter, Roxie Mckain Pointer, released a posthumous statement. “While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted to know that she is now with her daughter, Jada, and her two sisters, June and Bonnie, and at peace,” the statement said. “She was the one who kept us all close and close for so long. Her love for our family will live on in each and every one of us. Please respect our privacy during this time of grief and loss. Heaven is a beautiful place most lovingly with Anita there.”
Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards. The first, according to the Grammy Awards website, was the award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for 1974’s Fairytale, written by Anita and Bonnie Pointer.
Their country tune earned them enough credibility for the Pointer Sisters to become the first black female group to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, according to a biography on the group’s website. Elvis Presley recorded a version of “Fairytale” on one of her last albums, “Today”.
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Like Elvis, the sisters learned to sing on Sundays. They attended their father’s church in Oakland, California.
The group’s 1983 album “Break Out” won two more Grammy Awards: Best Vocal Arrangement for “Automatic” and Best Pop Performance for “Jump (For My Love),” according to the Grammy website.
Anita Pointer’s singing career began in 1969 after quit her job as a secretary at a law firm, according to the group’s website. He retired from touring in 2015.
She was an avid collector of African American art and memorabilia. She assembled such a collection, according to her publicist, that the entire second floor of the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles was given over to the Pointer Sisters’ Ever After exhibit. The last photo was taken of Bonnie (who died in 2020), Anita, and Ruth at the gallery.
Neil, her publicist, said Anita Pointer passed away at 6:27 p.m. In her Beverly Hills home surrounded by Fritz, Roxy, and Ruth.
Neil said no arrangements had been made. He gave a copy of a handwritten statement written by Ruth Pointer to everyone who loved her sister.
“The pain is so deep,” she wrote. “I have no words but a beautiful song that I sang, ‘Freedom’.”
That song capped off the band’s 1985 album, “Contact,” and includes this verse:
- I want to take you there (Freedom)
- I’m talking about freedom everywhere (Freedom)
- Freedom but you, freedom but me
- Oh, freedom, freedom (Oh-oh-oh)
- Let me go, let me go, let me go
- I want it now, I want it now
