Anita Pointer, Co-Founder Of Grammy-Winning Pointer Sisters, Dies At 74
The group had seven pop Top 10 singles in the US including ‘Fire’ and ‘Slow Hand.’
Anita Pointer, a founding member of chart-topping Grammy-winners the Pointer Sisters, died of cancer on Saturday (December 31) at the age of 74. She passed away at home in Los Angeles, surrounded by her family.
A family statement noted: “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 & Bonnie and at peace. Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita there. 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.” The statement asked that the family’s privacy be respected “during this period of grief and loss.”
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Anita Pointer was born in Oakland, California, the fourth of six children to parents from Arkansas, on January 23, 1948. The three-time Grammy-winners first sang together at their hometown church there, and released their first, self-titled album in 1973. It contained the pop and R&B hit “Yes We Can Can” and was certified gold. They then topped the US R&B chart in 1974 with “How Long (Betcha’ Got A Chick On The Side).”
The sisters had seven Top 10 pop singles in America, two of which (“Fire” and “Slow Hand”) reached No.2. They placed a total of 30 singles on the R&B chart between 1973 and 1991, also including such memorable songs as “Automatic,” “I’m So Excited,” “Jump (For My Love),” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire.”
Anita’s death leaves Ruth Pointer as the only surviving member of the group, which alternated between a three and four-piece line-up. June died in 2006 and Bonnie in 2020. Anita’s daughter Jada died of cancer in 2003, at the age of 37. Bonnie had a solo deal with Motown after her departure from the Pointer Sisters, scoring her biggest success with a cover of the Elgins’ “Heaven Must Have Sent You” in 1979.
