Bonnie Pointer

Bonnie Pointer
Background information
Birth name	Patricia Bonnie Pointer
Born	July 11, 1950 (1950-07-11) (age 59)
Origin	Oakland, California, U.S.
Genres	Soul, R&B, Disco
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Atlantic Blue Thumb ABC Motown Private I Records
Associated acts	The Pointer Sisters
Website	[1]

Patricia "Bonnie" Pointer (born July 11, 1950) 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" which became a U.S. top 20 pop hit on September 1, 1979.

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 December 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.

In 1978, Bonnie married Motown Records Producer Jeffrey Bowen and signed with Motown in the same year, 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.

Bonnie appeared on Soul Train on March 2, 1985 (Season 14, Episode 20).^[1]

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)."

On May 4, 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.

Bonnie performed at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on Saturday, October 25, 2008.

Discography

Albums

• Bonnie Pointer Red Album (1978)
• Bonnie Pointer Purple Album (1979)
• If The Price Is Right (1984)

Singles

• Free Me From My Freedom (1978) #58
• Heaven Must Have Sent You (1979) #11
• Deep Inside My Soul (1979)
• I Can't Help Myself (1980) #40
• Premonition (1984)
• The Beast In Me (1984)
• Your Touch (1984)

References

External links

• Bonnie Pointer Biography
• Bonnie Pointer at MySpace