Anita Pointer, one of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters, whose string of 1970s and ’80s pop, country and R&B hits included I’m So Excited, Jump (For My Love) and Fire, has died of cancer on Saturday at the age of 74. , his publicist said.
Pointer was surrounded by family at her Beverly Hills home when she died, publicist Roger Neal said.
Anita was the second oldest of four sisters who began performing as the duo of June and Bonnie in 1969 and soon became a trio when Anita quit her job as a secretary to join the group, according to an official biography.
The Pointer Sisters later became a quartet for a time with Ruth, the only one of the original singing sisters still alive, although Bonnie left the group in the late 1970s and they became a trio once month. The Pointer sisters also have two surviving brothers, Fritz and Aaron.
From left to right, June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth Pointer are pictured in the UK in 1974. (Getty Images)
Anita was preceded in death by her daughter Jada, who died in 2003, when Anita took over raising her granddaughter, Roxie McKain Pointer.
“While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted to know that she is now with her daughter Jada and her sisters June and Bonnie and at peace. She was the one who held us all together for so long . His love for our family will live on in each of us,” the family said in a statement.
The sisters grew up singing in the church of their father, a preacher in Oakland, California.
Their debut album in 1973 produced their first hit single Yes We Can Can.
Among his biggest hits were Fire in 1978, He’s So Shy in 1980, Slow Hand in 1981 and Neutron Dance, Automatic and Jump in 1983. 1982’s I’m So Excited remains a standard.
In recent years, the group continued to perform with Ruth singing along with her daughter Issa and granddaughter Sadako.