Bonnie Pointer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Patricia "Bonnie" Pointer (born July 11, 1950, Oakland, California) is an American R&B and disco singer, most notable for being the next-to-youngest member of the 1970s and 1980s family music group, The Pointer Sisters. She scored several moderate solo hits after leaving the Pointers in 1977, including a disco cover of The Elgins' "Heaven Must Have Sent You" in 1979.
[edit] Career
Bonnie and youngest sister June began singing together as teenagers and in 1969 the duo had co-founded The Pointers (otherwise known as The Pair). After Anita joined the duo that same year, they changed their name to The Pointer Sisters and recorded several singles for Atlantic Records between 1971 and 1972. In 1972, they recruited oldest sister Ruth and released their debut album as The Pointer Sisters in 1973. Their self-titled debut yielded the hit, "Yes We Can Can".
Between 1973 and 1977, the Pointers' donned 1940s fashions and sang in a style reminiscent of The Andrew Sisters; they also melded the sounds of R&B, funk, rock and roll, gospel, country and soul. Anita and Bonnie who wrote the group's crossover country hit, "Fairytale," in 1974, which also became a Top 20 pop hit and won the group their first Grammy for Best Vocal by a Duo or Group, Country. Anita and Bonnie also were nominated for Best Country Song at the same ceremony.
In 1977, Bonnie left the group to begin a solo career. The remaining sisters continued scoring hits from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s and had a major breakthrough with their 1983 album Break Out.
Signing with Motown in 1978, Bonnie released "Heaven Must Have Sent You," which reached #11 on Billboard Hot 100 chart. She released three solo albums, including two self-titled albums for Motown, before retiring from the studio.
She still continues to perform, and reunited with her sisters on two separate occasions: when the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994, and during a Las Vegas, Nevada performance in 1996 singing "Jump (For My Love)."
In 2006, shortly after the death of her sister June, Bonnie appeared on Entertainment Tonight saying her sisters had not fulfilled June's burial wishes, thus cremating her because it was cheaper.[citation needed] She also claimed that Anita and Ruth refused to let her ride in the family car at the funeral.[citation needed] Eldest brother Fritz Pointer responded that Bonnie demanded to be let back in the group, or she would not come to the funeral.[citation needed]
At the beginning of 2008, Bonnie embarked on a European tour, and has been working on her autobiography.
