Ruth Esther Pointer (born March 19, 1946) is an American singer best known as the eldest and last surviving original member of the family vocal group

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

Career

Joining her sisters in 1972, the Pointer Sisters released their first album in 1973. The group eventually found fame with songs like " Yes We Can Can" (1973), their

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

crossover hit, " Fairytale" (1974) and " How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)" before Bonnie's exit in 1977. Continuing as a trio, the group found their biggest success covering tunes of rock, pop and new wave with singles such as "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

" (1978), " He's So Shy" (1980), and " Slow Hand" (1981). The group found its biggest success with the release of the '' Break Out'' album in 1983 which featured hits such as "Automatic", "Jump (For My Love)", a re-released version of " I'm So Excited", "Neutron Dance", and "Baby Come And Get It". It's notable for featuring Ruth's lead vocals on "

Automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...

" and "

Neutron Dance "Neutron Dance" is a song written by Allee Willis and Danny Sembello which was introduced by the Pointer Sisters on their 1983 album '' Break Out''. The song became a Top Ten hit in 1985, its success augmented by being prominently featured on th ...

", which hit the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Chart and led to the group winning two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. In 1988, Pointer along with

Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment", a US number 1 ...

provided vocals for the song "Enemies Like You and Me" from the soundtrack to '' Iron Eagle II''. That same year, Pointer also provided the singing voice of the character Rita in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film ''

Oliver & Company ''Oliver & Company'' is a 1988 American Animated film, animated musical film, musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is inspired by the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist''. I ...

'', where she sang the song "Streets of Gold" as well as a reprise of the song "Why Should I Worry" with fellow cast member

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

. The Pointer Sisters were joined by Ruth's daughter Issa in the 1990s. The group was given a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

in 1994. In October 2021, Pointer competed in season six of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Cupcake". Pointer revealed upon her unmasking that she was supposed to perform on the show as part of a duo with her sister Anita in a duplicated and recolored Cupcake costume. Anita was dealing with an illness, forcing Ruth to perform alone. With the deaths of

Bonnie Bonnie is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean or Bonnie Dundee about John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse. It comes from the Scots language word "bon ...

and Anita Pointer in 2020 and 2022 respectively, Ruth Pointer is the last surviving founding member of The Pointer Sisters.

Personal life

Pointer has been married five times and has five children. The eldest are a daughter Faun (born 1965) and a son Malik (born 1966). Malik is a singer. Her daughter Issa Pointer (born 1978), is from a marriage with former Temptations member

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations for Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang w ...

. They married on December 21, 1980 in Las Vegas, and divorced in 1983. In 1984, Pointer married noted bassist Don Boyette, divorcing in 1988. She has three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild as of 2016. Pointer married Michael Sayles in 1990 and, at the age of 47 in 1993, she gave birth to twins, a boy named Conor and a girl named Ali. Both Issa Pointer and Ruth's granddaughter Sadako Pointer (born 1984) have performed as members of the Pointer Sisters. Pointer resides in Hopedale,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

with her husband.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pointer, Ruth 1946 births Living people The Pointer Sisters members 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American contraltos American women singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singers Singers from Oakland, California Ruth Singer-songwriters from California African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women