Anita Pointer died Saturday at her Los Angeles home of complications from cancer, her rep said. She was surrounded by her family.
“While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted to know that she is now with her daughter Jada and sisters June and Bonnie and rest in peace,” shared Anita’s sister Ruth, brothers Aaron and Fritz, and her granddaughter. Roxie McKain Pointer in a joint statement. “Heaven is a beautiful and loving place with Anita there,” she said.
Anita’s daughter Jada died in 2003 and once inspired the Pointer Sisters to write a song with her name in the title.
The Pointer Sisters celebrated their greatest hits in the 70s and 80s with pop and disco songs like “Fire”, “He’s So Shy”, “Slow Hand” and “I’m So Excited”. In 1975, the Oakland, California group won a Grammy for the song “Fairytale,” which Anita Pointer co-wrote with her sister Bonnie. The song was later covered by Elvis Presley.
The Pointer Sisters were founded in 1971 – initially with sisters Anita, Bonnie and June, in 1972 Ruth also joined them. She is the only remaining founding member of the group and keeps it alive with Issa Pointer, Anita Pointer’s granddaughter, and Sadako Johnson, Anita’s granddaughter.
sib/gh (afp)
