| Remembering June Pointer Of The Pointer Sisters |
|
|
|
| Written by West Brown | |
The youngest of the legendary Pointer Sisters (and youngest of all six Pointer siblings), was best known for her part in a string of genre-defying '70s and '80s hits. The sisters, along with their two older brothers, grew up singing in the choir of an Oakland, CA church where their parents were ministers. In 1969, she and elder sister Bonnie formed "The Pointers - A Pair" which became a trio later when Anita joined and then morphed into a quartet when eldest sister Ruth came aboard in 1972. They then took the name The Pointer Sisters.
After releasing their self-titled debut in 1973, the Pointer Sisters had hits with the funky "Yes We Can Can", the country song "Fairytale", and the R&B tunes "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)" and "You Gotta Believe." Bonnie left the group for a solo career in 1977.
Up until this point, the members had become known for their unique costumes composed of vintage 40s clothing. They ditched the look for a more contemporary look and embarked on the biggest success of the group's career. The sisters generated a string of classics including a smoldering cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" (1978), "He's So Shy" (1980), "Slow Hand" (1981), "I'm So Excited" (1982), "Should I Do It" (1982), "American Music" (1982), "Automatic" (1984) and the monstrous "Jump (for My Love)" in 1985. Throughout their career, the sisters continued to defy genre labels by embracing all kinds of styles in their music. Click for more R&B/soul and rap/hip-hop dearly departed in 2006 |









