Anita Pointer, founding member of The Pointer Sisters, dies aged 74 after ’heroic battle with cancer’

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Founding member of pop and R&B group The pointer Sisters, Anna Pointer, has died aged 74 after what has been described as a ‘heroic battle with cancer’

Anita Pointer, one of the founding members of American R&B group The Pointer Sisters, has lost her battle with cancer overnight. In a statement from the group’s representatives, they wrote that Pointer, 74, “fought a very heroic battle with cancer. She was surrounded by family at the time of her death”.

Discussions regarding Anita Pointer’s health began circulating amongst musical circles back in October 2021 when her scheduled appearance on the US reality singing contest The Masked Singer was cancelled due to the singer “dealing with an illness.” She was set to debut with her sister, Ruth Pointer.

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Anita formed The Pointer Sisters with family members June and Bonnie Pointer in 1969, as her siblings performed as a duo across the US as Pointers, a Pair. Sister Ruth then joined the band leading to a Grammy award win in 1975 for their single Fairytale. While Bonnie left to pursue a solo career, the remaining members rose to prominence in the 1980s as a trio.

One of their most recognisable songs, Jump (For My Love) leapt on the popularity of electro-pop during the early 80s, leading to the song becoming the best-selling American dance single of 1984. A cover years later by Girls Aloud also managed to achieve international success.

In February 2020, Anita released the book, Fairytale: The Pointer Sisters’ Family Story which was co-written with her brother, Fritz Pointer. The book described the difficulties and successes the sisters encountered throughout their career as well as finding themselves as young black women in the San Francisco Bay Area during the Civil Rights and Black Power movement of the late 1960s.

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