The Pointer Sisters

The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters on the cover of Cash Box, January 27, 1979. (Ruth, Anita & June), l-r
Background information
Also known as	Pointers, Au Pair
Origin	Oakland, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B soul pop dance country
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Blue Thumb ABC Planet RCA Motown SBK Atlantic
Members	Ruth Pointer Issa Pointer Sadako Pointer
Past members	June Pointer Bonnie Pointer Anita Pointer
Website	thepointersisters.com

The Pointer Sisters are an American girl group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as R&B, pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country, and rock. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. The group had 13 US top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985.

The group had its origins when sisters June and Bonnie Pointer began performing in clubs in 1969 as "Pointers Au Pair". The line-up grew to a trio when sister Anita joined them. Their record deal with Atlantic Records produced 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, with their new label, began seeing more success, winning a Grammy Award in 1975 for Best Country Vocal Performance for "Fairytale" (1974). Bonnie left the group in 1977 to commence a solo career with modest success.

The group achieved its greatest commercial success in the 1980s as a trio consisting of June, Ruth, and Anita. They won two more Grammys in 1984 for the top 10 hits "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)". The group's other U.S. top 10 hits are "Fire" (1979), "He's So Shy" (1980), "Slow Hand" (1981), the remixed version of "I'm So Excited" (1984), and "Neutron Dance" (1985).

June, the youngest sister, struggled with drug addiction for several years, leaving the group in April 2004 prior to her death from cancer in April 2006, at the age of 52.^[1] She was replaced by Ruth's daughter Issa Pointer. This trio had a number two hit in Belgium in 2005, covering "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" with Belgian singer Natalia. Between 2009 and 2015, the group consisted of Anita, Ruth, Issa, and Ruth's granddaughter Sadako Pointer. While all four women remained in the group, they most often performed as a trio rotating the lineup as needed. In 2015, Anita was forced to retire due to ill health, leaving Ruth the sole member of the original sibling line-up.

In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked them as the 80th most successful dance artists of all-time.^[2] In December 2017, Billboard ranked them as the 93rd most successful Hot 100 Artist of all-time^[3] and as the 32nd most successful Hot 100 Women Artist of all-time.^[4]