Bonnie Pointer

Patricia "Bonnie" Pointer (born on July 11, 1951 in Oakland, California) is an American R&B and disco singer most notable for being the next-to-youngest member of the popular 1970s and 1980s family music group, The Pointer Sisters. She scored several solo hits after leaving the Pointers in 1977 including a disco cover of the Elgins' "Heaven Must Have Sent You" in 1978. Bonnie and youngest sister June began singing together as teenagers and in 1969 the duo had co-founded The Pointers (otherwise known as The Pair). After Anita joined the duo that same year, they changed their name to The Pointer Sisters and recorded several singles for Atlantic between 1971 and 1972. In 1972, they recruited oldest sister Ruth and released their debut as The Pointer Sisters in 1973. Their self-titled debut yielded the big hit, "Yes We Can Can", which put the Pointers on the musical map. Between 1973 and 1977, the Pointers' original look - displaying 1940s fashions and singing in a style reminiscent of the Andrew Sisters, the group also melded the sounds of R&B, funk, rock & roll, gospel, country and soul. It was Anita and Bonnie who wrote the group's crossover country hit, "Fairytale," in 1974, which also became a top 20 pop hit and helped won the group their first Grammy for country. Anita and Bonnie also were nominated for Best Country Song at the same ceremony. In 1977, the group was hit professionally after Bonnie suddenly left the group to begin a solo career leaving the quartet a trio. Fortunately for the Pointer Sisters, they continued scoring hits into the late-1980s finding super-stardom with their 1983 album, Break Out and issuing '80s hits such as "He's So Shy", "Slow Hand", "I'm so Excited," "Jump (for My Love)," "Automatic" and "Neutron Dance". Signing with Motown in 1978, Pointer released the classic disco single, "Heaven Must Have Sent You." She would release three solo albums, including two self-titled albums for Motown, before retiring from the studio though she still continues to perform. Bonnie reunited with her sisters on two separate occasions: reuniting with them as the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994 and another performing with them in 1996 singing "Jump (For My Love)" during a performance in Las Vegas. In 2006, shortly after the death of sister June, she appeared on Entertainment Tonight, saying her sisters had not fulfilled June's burial wishes instead cremating her because it was cheaper. Also she claimed that Anita and Ruth refused to let her ride in the family car at the funeral. The sisters responded that Bonnie demanded to be let back in the group or she would not come to the funeral. Bonnie and her sisters, who have had many conflicts since she left the group, are now estranged.