The Pointer Sisters' Anita Pointer Has Died

The singer was 74

Photo: National Archives of the Netherlands

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Jan 3, 2023

Anita Pointer of family vocal group the Pointer Sisters has died. She was 74.

A representative for Pointer confirmed the news to TMZ, saying the vocalist died on Saturday (December 31) following a "somewhat lengthy and heroic battle with cancer." She was reportedly at home, surrounded by family and friends.

"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," sister and bandmate Ruth Pointer said in a statement made alongside their brothers, Aaron and Fritz. "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. Please respect our privacy during this period of grief and loss. Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita there."

Bonnie Pointer died in 2020, while June Pointer passed away from cancer in 2006.

Hailing from Oakland, CA, the Pointer Sisters left their mark on the music industry as one of the most successful, genre-traversing girl groups of the '70s and '80s. Following the release of their largely jazz and bebop-styled sophomore album That's a Plenty — which included a country song entitled "Fairytale" — in 1974, they won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance and became the first group of Black women to perform at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. They would go on to win two more Grammys in 1985 and receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.

After Bonnie departed the group in 1978 to pursue a solo career, the Pointer Sisters really hit their stride as the trio of Anita, Ruth and June in the 1980s, spawning numerous Top 10 hits in the US like "Automatic," "Jump (For My Love)," "Fire," "He's So Shy," "Slow Hand," a remix of "I'm So Excited" and "Neutron Dance."

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