Biography
Vocalist Bonnie Pointer played an essential role in shaping the Pointer Sisters during their initial phase as one of R&B’s standout ensembles, lending her voice to a distinctive blend of polished harmonies, New Orleans-inflected rhythms, and a nostalgic yet adaptable style that incorporated jazz, jump blues, and classic pop touches. Following the quartet’s fourth album she struck out alone, channeling her talents into dance-driven R&B. Her contributions alongside her sisters stand out most clearly on the 1973 self-titled debut and 1975’s Steppin’, while the two early solo sets that both carried her name—issued in 1978 and 1979—mark the strongest moments of her disco-focused chapter.
Patricia Eva Pointer, born July 11, 1950, in Oakland, California, and called Bonnie by relatives, spent her youth harmonizing with her siblings. In 1969 she and sister June Pointer began appearing together under the names the Pointers and the Pair. Anita Pointer’s arrival by the close of that year prompted the adoption of the Pointer Sisters moniker. An Atlantic Records contract produced a pair of singles in 1971 and 1972 before the label let them go. Ruth Pointer’s subsequent entry inspired a fresh presentation that featured 1940s-style outfits and a sound both retro and funky. Signed to Blue Thumb Records, their first album as a foursome, 1973’s The Pointer Sisters, earned gold certification on the strength of “Yes We Can Can” and “Wang Dang Doodle.” The follow-up, That’s A-Plenty, appeared in early 1974 and contained the country-tinged hit “Fairytale,” which Bonnie co-wrote. Toward the end of 1974 the group issued the concert recording Live at the Opera House, and 1975’s Steppin’ included another Bonnie co-write, “How Long (Betcha’ Got a Chick on the Side).”
Bonnie departed the act in 1977, after which the Pointer Sisters continued as a trio favoring more contemporary pop and R&B fare. She married producer Jeffrey Bowen in 1978, the same year she secured a solo contract with Motown Records. Bowen and Berry Gordy jointly produced her debut solo album, the 1978 release Bonnie Pointer (known to fans as “The Red Album”), which featured the hits “Heaven Must Have Sent You” and “Free Me from My Freedom” and showcased her supplying her own backing vocals along with the leads. That project moved in a firmly disco direction, as did the 1979 follow-up, also titled Bonnie Pointer (referred to as “the Purple Album”), again helmed by Bowen and built around remakes of Motown classics save for “Deep Inside My Soul,” co-written by Bonnie. After parting ways with Motown she did not surface again until 1984, when If the Price Is Right appeared on the Sony-distributed Private I label. Steeped in the era’s electronic funk, the album was followed by two songs she recorded for the 1985 Heavenly Bodies soundtrack, likewise issued by Private I. Both efforts soon slipped from view, though occasional live performances continued until the arrival of Like a Picasso in 2011. In February 2020 she and sister Anita Pointer released the new recording “Feels Like June,” a song they wrote in tribute to their late sister June. It proved to be the last music Bonnie issued before her death on June 8, 2020, at the age of 69.
Patricia Eva Pointer, born July 11, 1950, in Oakland, California, and called Bonnie by relatives, spent her youth harmonizing with her siblings. In 1969 she and sister June Pointer began appearing together under the names the Pointers and the Pair. Anita Pointer’s arrival by the close of that year prompted the adoption of the Pointer Sisters moniker. An Atlantic Records contract produced a pair of singles in 1971 and 1972 before the label let them go. Ruth Pointer’s subsequent entry inspired a fresh presentation that featured 1940s-style outfits and a sound both retro and funky. Signed to Blue Thumb Records, their first album as a foursome, 1973’s The Pointer Sisters, earned gold certification on the strength of “Yes We Can Can” and “Wang Dang Doodle.” The follow-up, That’s A-Plenty, appeared in early 1974 and contained the country-tinged hit “Fairytale,” which Bonnie co-wrote. Toward the end of 1974 the group issued the concert recording Live at the Opera House, and 1975’s Steppin’ included another Bonnie co-write, “How Long (Betcha’ Got a Chick on the Side).”
Bonnie departed the act in 1977, after which the Pointer Sisters continued as a trio favoring more contemporary pop and R&B fare. She married producer Jeffrey Bowen in 1978, the same year she secured a solo contract with Motown Records. Bowen and Berry Gordy jointly produced her debut solo album, the 1978 release Bonnie Pointer (known to fans as “The Red Album”), which featured the hits “Heaven Must Have Sent You” and “Free Me from My Freedom” and showcased her supplying her own backing vocals along with the leads. That project moved in a firmly disco direction, as did the 1979 follow-up, also titled Bonnie Pointer (referred to as “the Purple Album”), again helmed by Bowen and built around remakes of Motown classics save for “Deep Inside My Soul,” co-written by Bonnie. After parting ways with Motown she did not surface again until 1984, when If the Price Is Right appeared on the Sony-distributed Private I label. Steeped in the era’s electronic funk, the album was followed by two songs she recorded for the 1985 Heavenly Bodies soundtrack, likewise issued by Private I. Both efforts soon slipped from view, though occasional live performances continued until the arrival of Like a Picasso in 2011. In February 2020 she and sister Anita Pointer released the new recording “Feels Like June,” a song they wrote in tribute to their late sister June. It proved to be the last music Bonnie issued before her death on June 8, 2020, at the age of 69.
Albums
Singles
