ANITA Pointer, an American singer-songwriter and one of the founding members of the R&B group The Pointer Sisters, has died at age 74. The news was confirmed by her publicist Roger Neal.
Pointer passed away on Saturday, December 31 at her home in Los Angeles where she was surrounded by her family. The cause of death was cancer, Neal said in a statement to CNN.
“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,” Pointer’s family said in a statement. “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 said, while also asking that the family’s privacy be respected “during this period of grief and loss”.
The four Pointer sisters grew up in Oakland, California and began singing together early in their lives at church where their father ministered. Bonnie and her youngest sister, June, made their professional singing debut as a duo in 1969.
They later recruited older sisters Anita and Ruth to join them. The group released its first album in 1973. In 1974, they won their first Grammy Award for their crossover hit ‘Fairytale’.
They are also known for hits like ‘Slow Hand’, ‘Neutron Dance’, and ‘Jump’. The Pointer Sisters won a total of three Grammy Awards and had 13 US Top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985. – The Vibes, January 1, 2023
