Hello, and welcome back to another blog post! I am very excited about today’s post because I will be discussing the R&B group The Pointer Sisters. The sisters have been a part of Lydia’s Girls group for the 70s and 80s albums. You can find the complete list on my website under the section: Albums. In Oakland, California, Reverend Elton and Sarah Pointer had six children, Aaron, Fritz, Ruth, Anita, Bonnie, and June. Growing up in a very religious household, the Pointer children were not allowed to listen to rock n roll or blues because it was considered “the devil’s music.” Although, when their parents weren’t around, the kids would listen to more secular genres. Since their father was a Reverend, the sisters sang at their Church of God in Christ congregation but enjoyed singing other styles. After graduating from Oakland Technical High School, Ruth and Anita were soon married and had children. Bonnie and June went out to pursue their musical careers and created the group: “Pointers, A Pair.” Even though she had a family and a job, Anita decided to quit her job and join her sisters in touring as backup singers for Grace Slick, Sylvester James, Boz Scaggs, and Elvin Bishop. During this time, the sisters received a recording contract with Atlantic Records, which wasn’t a success. Still, they finally convinced Ruth to join the group at the end of 1972 and signed with Blue Thumb Records to record their first album, The Pointer Sisters. Receiving excellent reviews, the sisters recorded their second album, That’s A Plenty, in 1974. That’s A Plenty was similar to their previous album except for Fairytale, a country song that Anita and Bonnie wrote. This song was so successful that Nashville invited them to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, the first Black group to perform there. In 1975 the third studio album, Steppin’, was released and nominated for a Grammy. In 1977, Having A Party was released and would be the last album in which all four sisters were featured. To make things a little easier to understand, I found a timeline on Wikipedia that shows when each of the sisters was a part of the group.
As you can see, June left the group before their next album in 1978 called Energy, but she did return in time for their 1979 album, Priority. Bonnie went on to make a solo career and married Motown Producer Jeffery Bowen. From the girl-group sound to rock, Ruth, Anita, and June recorded several more albums ranging in different styles. In more recent years, Ruth’s daughter Issa and Anita’s daughter Jada had joined the group to tour. Unfortunately, Jada passed away the following year with pancreatic cancer. In 2009 Ruth’s granddaughter Sadako joined them. Today, Ruth and Anita are the only two sisters still alive. June passed away from cancer in 2006, and Bonnie passed away in 2020 after she went into cardiac arrest.
Today I have decided to write about their cover of Bruce Springsteen’s song Fire. Bruce originally wrote the song after he had seen Elvis Presley perform live and sent him a demo to cover it. Unfortunately, Elvis had passed away before the demo got to him. Bruce then recorded it for himself but didn’t think it would do well, so he left it off his album Darkness on the Edge of Town. However, I believe that this song was destined for The Pointer Sisters. The song definitely screams Bruce Springsteen with the electric guitar and the rhythm in the vocals. After the musical intro, I love it when all the instruments stop playing, and Anita sings, “I’m riding in your car.” The way that she sings gives me chills. Then when June and Ruth come in for the tagline singing the low harmony, I feel more chills on my arms. In the second verse, the organ and piano are added, making the song sound fuller. The song takes a more classic 50s rock n roll sound to it during the bridge that amplifies it, then quickly slows down when Anita sings, “But my heart stays cool.” Going into the third verse, all three sisters sing the line, “Well, Romeo and Juliet, Sampson and Delilah.” Their voices sound so solid and united here. During the instrumental bridge, the organ played by David Paich is outstanding and completes the song. You need to check out this song and the rest of The Pointer Sister’s music if you have a chance. You will not be disappointed!
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