*The Pointer Sisters weren’t always a four or three sibling band. It started out back in 1969 with two of the sisters – Bonnie and June. They were called “Pointers, A Pair” back then, until Anita joined a year later and the trio became The Pointer Sisters.
Bonnie died this morning, on the eighth day of the month that shares her late sister’s name. Anita told TMZ, “”Bonnie was my best friend and we talked every day, we never had a fight in our life, I already miss her and I will see her again one day.”
Below, an impromptu performance from Bonnie and Anita in Vegas at Rose Rabbit Lie
In this EUR Video Flashback, we’ll celebrate Bonnie’s contribution as both a part of The Pointer Sisters and as a solo artist. Bonnie, June and Anita began performing and providing background vocals for such artists as Grace Slick, Sylvester James, Boz Scaggs and Elvin Bishop. It was while supporting Bishop at a nightclub in 1971 that the sisters were signed to Atlantic Records. Their long hit at the time was the single, “Send Him Back.”
It was around this time that sibling Ruth joined the group in December 1972. The quartet signed with Blue Thumb Records. and began to record their first full-fledged album. Their self-titled first album in 1973 and received strong reviews. Their first single, “Yes We Can Can,” hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 12 on the R&B Chart. Its follow-up, a cover of Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” reached No. 24 on the R&B Chart.
Anita and Bonnie wrote the group’s crossover country hit, “Fairytale,” in 1974. It became a Top 20 pop hit and won the group their first Grammy for Best Vocal by a Duo or Group, Country. Anita and Bonnie also were nominated for Best Country Song at the same ceremony.
In 1977, Bonnie left the group and signed with Motown the following year, releasing her self titled debut, known as “Bonnie Pointer Red Album.” It spawned her biggest solo hit, a cover of “Heaven Must Have Sent You,” which reached No. 11 on Billboard Hot 100. It also contained the single, “Free Me From My Freedom.”
Bonnie promoted her first album with a performance on TV’s “American Bandstand.” Below is her interview with Dick Clark.
She released the follow up “Bonnie Pointer Purple Album” in 1979, filled with Motown covers like “Come See About Me,” “Jimmy Mack” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch).”
Bonnie returned to “American Bandstand” to promote this album as well. Watch her interview below.
In 1984, Bonnie released her third and final solo album, “If the Price Is Right,” under Private I Records. She dropped three singles from the LP: “Your Touch,” “Premonition” and “”The Beast in Me”
Bonnie reunited with her sisters on two separate occasions: when the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994, and during a Las Vegas performance in 1996 singing the Pointer Sisters’ 1984 hit “Jump (for My Love).”
June, the youngest Pointer Sister, died in 2006 after she was diagnosed with cancer. In February 2020, Bonnie and Anita released “Feels Like June” in her honor. A spokesperson said it was Bonnie’s final recording.
Bonnie Pointer is survived by her brothers Aaron and Fritz and sisters Ruth and Anita Pointer.
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