Anita Pointer

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Anita Pointer (born January 23, 1948, in Oakland, California) is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, most notable for being one of the members of all- sister group, The Pointer Sisters.

She quit a job as a secretary to join her younger sisters Bonnie and June to form the Pointer Sisters in 1969. After several failed singles between 1971 and 1972 for Atlantic Records, the trio convinced eldest sister Ruth to join the group in 1972 and becoming a quartet. The group found fame under the Anita-assisted lead vocals of their big hit, 1973's "Yes We Can Can". It was Anita's co-writing duties for their 1974 hit, "Fairytale", that helped the group make music history when the country-infused song hit the country charts, instantly winning the group their first Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group; and Anita and sister Bonnie a Grammy nod for Song of the Year in 1975.

After Bonnie left the Pointers in 1977 bringing the group back to being a trio, Ruth, Anita and June would rise to higher levels with the releases of singles like 1978's rock-infused "Fire", 1980's New Wave-ish/dance single, "He's So Shy", 1981's "Slow Hand" and 1982's "I'm So Excited", with the latter two led-sung by Anita.

After the trio's "Break Out" reached multi-platinum status winning the group two Grammy Awards, Anita would venture into a solo career finding chart success in 1986 with Earl Thomas Conley on the song, "Too Many Times", which reached #2 on the country singles chart. In 1987, she released her first official solo album with Love For What It Is. The album's first single, "Overnight Success", reached #41 on the R&B singles chart.

Anita still performs with the Pointer Sisters to this day. The group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993.

In 2003 Anita's only child Jada, about whom she wrote a song called "Jada", died of cancer.