The Pointer Sisters first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry October 25, 1974, becoming the first black female group to perform at the venue. They performed Fairytale which went on to win a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.
Bonnie Pointer, born July 11, 1950 and a founding member of the Grammy-winning, ground-breaking Pointer Sisters, passed away earlier today. She and baby sister June started singing as teenagers and in 1969, Anita joined the pair and they changed their name to the Pointer Sisters. In 1972, big sister Ruth joined and they released their debut album in 1973.
Bonnie co-wrote their country hit Fairytale with Anita, which won their first Grammy Award. She is survived by her two sisters Ruth and Anita.
The Pointer Sisters win their first Grammy Award, March 1, 1975 for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Fairytale. The song was written by Anita and Bonnie, who were also nominated for Best Country Song as the songwriters. Later Fairytale was covered by Elvis Presley.
Based on the song's success, the Pointer Sisters were invited to Nashville, and became the first African-American group to perform at the Grand Ol' Opry!
Of course, I'm not going to let Black History Month go by without giving a shout out to my girls, the beautiful, talented Pointer Sisters. Not just because they are my favorite group but they also pushed back race barriers through their beautiful music.
October 25, 1974, they became the first African-American vocal group to perform at the Grand Ol' Opry. Charley Pride appeared in 1967. They performed Fairytale, a country song written by Anita and Bonnie which appeared on their album That's a Plenty, released in February 1974. It was a departure from their usual R&B sound, but it paid off. It gave them their first Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for 1974. It was the first Grammy to an all-female vocal group.
Anita and Bonnie were nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Song for writing Fairytale.
They planned to record an album of all C&W songs, but only one song was released, Live Your Life Before You Die. It was a minor hit but it did give them another Grammy nomination for Best Country Group Performance.
A founding member of the Pointer Sisters (my girls!), Anita Pointer was born January 23, 1948, in Oakland, California. Although their music was most R&B, Anita wrote Fairytale, which won the group their first Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. The song was also nominated for Best Country Song of the year for 1975.
She returned to the country charts in 1986 with her duet with Earl Thomas Conley Too Many Times which reached #2 on the U.S. Country charts.
My favorite song led by Anita is I'm So Excited from their Break Out album
