June Pointer, RIP -- June Pointer died April 12, from cancer, at age 52. I can not begin to tell you how many hours of pleasure she and her sisters Ruth, Anita and Bonnie have given me over the past 33 years, since the release of their first album, "The Pointer Sisters," on Blue Thumb Records. I remember so well the first time I heard them, and how it made me feel. It was the summer of 1973, and I was "down the shore" with some friends at someone's parents' summer home, and we were sitting around chatting, with WNEW-FM playing in the background. All of a sudden I started hearing these amazing sounds coming out of the radio. A solo piano intro, followed by the sounds of a soft electric guitar, then vocals, all of which kept building to a near-frenetic, gospel-tinged finish. I'd never heard anything like it before. Part rock, part gospel, large part heaven. The jock announced afterwards that the song was "River Boulevard," and that the group singing it was The Pointer Sisters. I stored this info in my head, for my next trip to the record department at Korvette's in Paramus. :) I bought the self-titled album, took it home, and from the opening percussion of "Yes, We Can Can" to the closing refrains of "Wang Dang Doodle," I was in love. And I still am, with that first release, as well as the four releases that followed - essentially comprising their entire body of work for Blue Thumb - "That's A Plenty," "Live at the San Francisco Opera House," "Steppin'" and "Having a Party" - each of which were gems in their own right, having given me, as I've said, countless hours of listening pleasure, as recently as the day before June died, in the case of "Opera House" and "That's A Plenty" (as a matter of fact, the name and tag line of my blog, "A Passable Ear," are taken from the lyrics to "Little Pony," from "That's A Plenty.") In an era of acid rock and seminal disco, they dared to do something completely different - '40s style rock and roll was the best way to describe their music although their versatility and individuality defied categorization - and they did it well. Every Pointer Sisters concert I went to in the mid-to-late 70s - and I probably saw about 40 of their shows in all - was sheer delight.
In 1977, Bonnie left the group and created a masterpiece of her very own, the self-titled "Bonnie Pointer," featuring "When I'm Gone," "Free Me From My Freedom" and "Heaven Must Have Sent You."
Ruth, June and Anita signed with Richard Perry and Planet Records and turned to a more soft pop-oriented sound, which garnered them their greatest commercial success, starting with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" and continuing with “He’s So Shy,” “Slow Hand” and “I’m So Excited,” and on through 1984's smash dance/funk release, "Break Out." After "Break Out," however, the Sisters (and Perry) either got lazy or had difficulty finding good material to record; everything after that point became generic and formulaic, and towards the end of the 80s they faded from the pop charts and essentially turned into caricatures of themselves. Pity. But what they offered us from 1973 - 1977 was unparalleled in its quality and uniqueness, and I am forever grateful for having their music around to listen to (again, as recently as just yesterday).
In addition to her work with her sisters, June, in addition, released a solo album) her first of two, but the only one worth mentioning), "Baby Sister," in 1982. "Baby Sister" was, at best, uneven, but one track stood out among the others and has always been in heavy rotation in the soundtrack of my life - a fabulous cover of "I'm Ready For Love," originally recorded in 1964 by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
RIP, June; may your memory always be for a blessing, and thank you for so much joy you brought to my life.
Thanks for listening, have a great day,
KA
