Anita Pointer, Frequent Lead Singer of Famed Sister Act, Dies at 74 - The New York Times

Anita Pointer, the saccharine and occasionally sultry pb vocalist connected galore hits of her household set the Pointer Sisters successful the 1970s and ’80s, died connected Saturday astatine location successful Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 74.

The origin was cancer, her publicist, Roger Neal, said.

The Pointer Sisters occupied a mediate constituent successful popular past betwixt the doo-wop innocence of the Ronettes and the stilettoed miss powerfulness of Destiny’s Child.

Anita’s dependable had a batch to bash with that. She sang with the velocity and spirit of molasses. Though she commanded the virtuosity to trill prettily, she tended to sing excessively softly to dependable overpowering. In “Slow Hand,” a emotion opus with a soft-focus music video that reached No. 2 connected the popular charts successful 1981, Anita cooed.

When she sang pb vocals, connected that opus and others, her sisters provided a melodic enactment connected backup, and the women often harmonized, structuring their groovy ’70s dependable on akin lines to a barbershop quartet.

Performing the opus live, Anita sang done a toothy smile, with an earnest, imploring code that mightiness person been learned from proceeding her father, a minister, preach.

Some of the Pointer Sisters’ aboriginal music, specified arsenic “How Long (Betcha’ Got A Chick On The Side)” (1975), could beryllium fast-paced and funky, but the antique facet of the group’s dependable was deliberate. The Pointer women performed wearing secondhand apparel that could person been worn to religion successful the 1940s — and they sometimes adjacent sourced their wardrobe from their mother's religion friends.

They won their archetypal Grammy, unusually for a Black radical of the time, successful the champion state vocal show by a duo oregon radical category, for the 1974 opus “Fairytale,” written by Anita and Bonnie.

Working extracurricular her household set successful 1986, Anita achieved a uncommon crossover deed successful a duet with the state vocalist Earl Thomas Conley, “Too Many Times.” The 2 performed the opus astatine an improbable venue for Mr. Conley: the R&B tv amusement “Soul Train.”

The Pointer Sisters charted a caller people erstwhile Bonnie near the group. Its 1978 rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s opus “Fire,” which reached No. 2 connected the charts, was transitional: old-fashioned honky-tonk soft lines, but with Anita arsenic pb vocalist leaning into a huskier, sexier broadside of her debased voice.

By 1982, the radical had arrived astatine a mostly caller benignant with “I’m So Excited.” On pb vocals, Anita sounded joyous belting retired come-hither lyrics astir “those pleasures successful the night,” and the radical came retired with a racy music video to match. The opus spent 40 weeks connected the Hot 100 chart.

Anita sang backup connected different Pointer Sisters hits, with June successful pb for “Jump (For My Love),” which won the duo oregon radical popular show Grammy successful 1985, and Ruth led connected “Automatic,” which won the vocal statement for 2 oregon much voices grant astatine that year’s ceremony.

“That’s thing I would ever hatred to spot — idiosyncratic trying to out-sing the different person,” Anita said successful a treatment of her vocation posted connected YouTube successful 2015. “Everybody did their best. I ne'er felt similar we were competing onstage.”

Anita Marie Pointer was calved connected Jan. 23, 1948, successful Oakland, Calif. Her father, the Rev. Elton Pointer, and her mother, Sarah Elizabeth Silas Pointer, some ministered to a tiny congregation. The six Pointer children sang successful choir passim their childhoods, gaining vocal grooming that would assistance the girls harmonize erstwhile they formed their ain group.

Elton and Sarah came from Arkansas, and Anita fell successful emotion with her grandparents’ location successful the municipality of Prescott, wherever she attended fifth, seventh and 10th grades. She attended a racially segregated school, was forced to beryllium successful the balcony of the movie theatre and erstwhile picked fabric for money.

She graduated from Oakland Technical High School successful 1965 and was hired arsenic a ineligible secretary. In 1968, she saw Bonnie and June sing to a assemblage successful San Francisco. “I conscionable mislaid it,” she told Collector’s Weekly successful 2015. “I sat successful that audience, and I cried, and I sang along. The adjacent day, I discontinue my job. I said, ‘I’ve got to sing!’”

The sisters soon became a backup radical for musicians successful the San Francisco country similar Taj Mahal. Once, they were warned astir upstaging a philharmonic enactment they were expected to beryllium supporting. They began signaling their ain music.

In summation to music, Anita amassed a notable postulation of objects charting Black American history, including artifacts of slavery, segregation and racist caricature.

“This reminds maine that everybody don’t emotion you and that you person to beryllium them wrong,” Ms. Pointer told Collector’s Weekly. “You’re not a buffoon. The artists tried to picture Black radical successful an insulting way, but I deliberation large lips and large booties are beautiful.”

Ms. Pointer’s 2 marriages ended successful divorce. Her daughter, Jada, from her archetypal marriage, died of crab successful 2003. June died successful 2006, and Bonnie died successful 2020. Ms. Pointer is survived by her sister Ruth; her brothers, Aaron and Fritz; and a granddaughter.

As she aged, Ms. Pointer ne'er fell retired of emotion with her aged music, blasting it successful her car and singing along. The set kept performing good into the 21st century.

“It’s not a vulgar show, truthful you tin bring your grandma and you tin bring the kids,” Ms. Pointer told the French outlet Metro News successful 2007. “They’re not going to get a corset successful their face.”