Bonnie Pointer, a founding member of the influential R&B group The Pointer Sisters has passed away at the age of 69, according to her fellow bandmate and sister Anita Pointer. According to Pitchfork, the late singer’s death has been attributed to cardiac arrest.
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce to the fans of The Pointer Sisters that my sister, Bonnie died this morning,” she said in a statement. “Our family is devastated, on behalf of my siblings and I and the entire Pointer family, we ask for your prayers at this time.”
During the 1970s and 1980s The Pointer Sisters amassed a total of 13 top 20 hits and three Grammy’s, spearheaded by the success of singles such as “Fairy Tale,” “Jump (For My Love)” and “Automatic.” The group hailed from Oakland and would be signed to various record labels including Atlantic, RCA and the iconic Motown Record labels during their decades spanning career.
Bonnie left the group in 1977 however, to pursue her own solo career and scored a top 20 hit with “Heaven Must Have Sent You,” a cover of The Elgins. She would go on to release three studio albums under her own name. before retiring from studio recordings after 1984, making sporadic appearances alongside her sisters for important events such as the unveiling of their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
Ruth is the sole member of the original sister lineup, with the death of June Pointer in 2006, and the departure of Anita due to health reasons in 2015. The group still performs to this day, with Ruth leading daughter Issa Pointer and granddaughter Sadako Pointer.
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