Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters dies at 74

• Anita’s publicist said in a statement that she passed away with her family by her side.
• Anita abandoned her job as a secretary to join her sisters.
• The R&B smash “Fire” and “Jump (For My Love)” were among their biggest hits.

The second oldest of the four sisters, Anita achieved prominence in the 1970s and 1980s with hits like “I’m So Excited.”

Anita Pointer of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters, who gained popularity with tunes like “I’m So Excited” in the 1970s and 1980s, passed away on Saturday from cancer, according to her publicist. She was 74.

Anita’s publicist said in a statement that she passed away with her family by her side.

The four sisters, who started singing in their father’s Oakland, California, church more than 50 years ago, included Anita as the second oldest. Her sister Ruth, brothers Aaron and Fritz, as well as granddaughter Roxie, survive her.

Jada, Anita’s sole child, passed away in 2003. The group’s other original member and sister Bonnie, who quit in the middle of the 1970s to pursue a solo career, also passed away in 2020 at the age of 69. June, the eldest sister, passed away in 2006.

While we are heartbroken by Anita’s passing, we are consoled by the knowledge that she is now at peace with her daughter Jada and her sisters June and Bonnie “the statement from the family said.

“She was the one who, for such a long time, kept us all close and associated. Each of us will carry on her love of our family. Please respect our privacy while we are grieving and losing someone. With Anita there, heaven is a more adoring, lovely place, they continued.

According to the statement, Anita abandoned her job as a secretary to join her sisters Bonnie and June and the Pointer Sisters formed as a trio in 1969.

They were given a management deal by Bill Graham, and they went on tour with Elvin Bishop. The quartet was formed in 1972 when the eldest sister, Ruth, joined the group.

In 1973, The Pointer Sisters released their debut album. The lead track, “Yes We Can Can,” was an immediate hit and peaked at number eleven on the Billboard charts.

With their international hit “Fairytale,” from the “That’s a Plenty” album, which Anita co-wrote with Bonita and Elvis Presley later recorded, they won the Grammy a year later, in 1974.

The group later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994 after going on to win two more Grammy Awards in 1984 for the song “Automatic,” which was a part of their best-selling album “Breakout.” They also gave a performance at the Olympics’ closing ceremony in Atlanta in 1996.

The R&B smash “Fire,” which peaked at #2 on the charts, and “Jump (For My Love)” were among their biggest hits.

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