The Pointer Sisters are not just any ordinary soul act, they have more.. POW!!!
The best thing about the sisters is that Ruth, Anita and June each have fantastic voices, each so distinctive, with no weak link. Ruth, of course has her awesome signature deep voice, that is incomparable with instantly recognisable husky tones. June has the gutsy, loud powerful soul voice, with an unrestrained fierceness reminiscent of a rock singer. And Anita is effortlessly flawless with her vocals and incredibly versatile in that she can sing soft flowing ballads and then really belt out the energetic songs. I love that they take turns in singing lead, I always say, it's like you're getting three artists in one. Not many groups do this, we mostly see groups featuring one lead vocalist and the other members are often just backing, or each member has a specific part in the song. But with the Pointer Sisters, nobody's fading into the background! And because their voices are all so different, with each lead, there is a different combination of backing vocals, and this is perfect harmonising, no matter what the make up.
They really can sing anything as they have shown throughout their career. Their repertoire includes Pop, Soul, Disco, Rock, Jazz, Dance, Be-bop, Blues, Gospel and even Country (in 1975 the song 'Fairytale' earned them 2 Grammys in the country category, and they were the first black female group to perform at the Grand Ole Opry). The height of their success was during the 80s, especially with the release of their 3x Platinum, aptly titled album, 'Break Out' produced by Richard Perry. They started working with Richard Perry in 1978, which marked a turning point for the group (their other sister Bonnie, who initially started the group with June in 1969, was in the group up until this point, when she left to pursue a solo career). Collaborating with Perry, they created their own brand of Electro pop soul, of which we could hear beginnings of on their 1982 album 'So Excited!', but really made it's debut on 'Break Out'. They really hit the big time with this one. This unique style of machine-made synth and beats, combined with powerful vocals, fun lyrics, exuberance, energy and catchy melodies, pretty much continued to their later releases throughout the 80s. In 88, June said in an interview for MTV (on why they had been so popular for so many years), "We have a tendency of getting our points across in the music, people understand what we're saying, it's like BOOM right there in your face". Which I think sums it up.
Another way The Pointer Sisters stood out was by their fabulous outfits and costumes. You will notice that they never wore identical outfits. Sometimes there would be a cohesive theme to what they wore but they would be in different colours, or sometimes the colour or pattern of their dresses would be the same but each would have a different style, cut, length or neckline. However, sometimes they would be wearing something completely different to one another. I saw an interview with Anita Pointer once and she was saying about a time when they had decided what to wear for a performance, and June refused to wear what Anita and Ruth had picked out, so June went into the bathroom and set the dress on fire! I guess it was maybe from that point they decided to each wear their own choices haha. But anyway, sure everyone dressed flamboyant in the 80s but they seem just that bit cooler. And not forgetting the fabulous hair! I can only dream of having hair that big! And again, they each had their own hairstyles, never the same as each other, and they did the 80s 'must' of reinventing the hairstyles for each album. Come to think of it, I think they probably changed hairstyles for every video! Their videos were always stylish and a perfect showcase for the outfits that I so wish existed in my wardrobe!
I guess what contributed massively to The Pointer Sisters' success is their charisma, and that exudes in everything that they did, from their music to their look, also in the interviews that they give, they are always up for a good time and they have a good sense of humour which makes them likeable. I think aswell it all comes with experience. They were in their 30s and 40s at the height of their success, Ruth was even a grandmother by this time. They'd already been doing this for a previous decade, and let's not forget they grew up singing gospel in their father's church. I think many years of experience definitely gave them an extra edge. And of course fearlessness, to try so many different things throughout their career.
And I guess everything I've discussed in this post, is the definition of 'POW!!!'
I will talk in more detail about their music soon, in the form of Album reviews. If you love 80s music and you're not yet too familiar with the Pointer Sisters, I suggest you go and get your hands on a copy of 'Break out'.
I am biased towards their 80s tunes, however I will say that their 70s stuff is definitely worth a listen too.
X
