Pointer Sisters

The Pointer family grew up in West Oakland California and during their childhood they were goaded by their parents (Elton and Sarah) to sing hymns and gospel music. Their father who was a church minister was adamant about steering his children away from rock and blues music, but they fell in love with these genres anyways. The sisters balanced their time between both church and secular music. When they were not busy singing in the choir they were soaking up hit singles by Elvis Presley such as “All Shook Up”.

By the 60s Bonnie and June Pointer began singing professionally under the moniker “Pointers, A Pair”. They started out making rounds in various night clubs in the San Francisco area, but eventually progressed towards the role of backup singers for important vocalist like Grace Slick, Sylvester James, Boz Scaggs, and Elvin Bishop. During this transitory stage the girls invited their sister Anita to join the group.

In 1971 the sisters signed to Atlantic Records and while they produced several singles for the label none of them offered them a commercial break. Their sister Ruth also jumped on board in 1972 and shortly after the sisters (now a quartet) entered into a recording contract with Blue Thumb Records. The Pointer Sisters released their studio debut in 1973. They made a conscious attempt to avoid many of the current pop trends and instead focused on a sound that was representative of jazz and be-bop music.

Though the album was an attempt to defy modern pop conventions, this release was nevertheless a hit, jumping to No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the R&B Album Charts. Their sophomore effort “That’s a Plenty” came out just a year later. This release was a stylistic extension of their debut; however, the album was demarcated by the stand out Country track “Fairytale”. This cut rose to No. 13 on the pop charts and No. 37 on the Country charts. It also built the sisters a following in Nashville and led them to their performance at the Grand Ole Opry, making them the first female black singers to perform at that venue. The song went on to win a Grammy for “Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” and was also covered by their personal hero Elvis Presley.

Their 3rd studio album “Steppin’” saw release in 1975 and went to No. 20 on the Billboard hot 100. It featured the single “How Long (Betcha’ Got a Chick on the Side)”, which was later sampled by the female rap group Salt-N-Peppa and covered by Queen Latifah. In 1977 they issued ‘Having a Party”, a record leaning more heavily towards funk music. This was further made evident with their decision to include Stevie Wonder on the album.

Their 5th album “Energy” came out the following year and was their 3rd album to go gold in the US. It was also their first album not to feature Bonnie Pointer (she left the group earlier on to pursue a solo career). The album drew from the catalogue of veteran pop artists such as Donald Fagan (Steely Dan), Bob Welch (Fleetwood Mac), Sylvester Stewart (Sly and the Family Stone), Kenny Loggins, Stephen Stills, and Bruce Springsteen. Their next album “Priority” also used compositions from classic root rockers like Springsteen, Richard Thompson, and Bob Seger.

The sisters started the 80s with two certified Gold albums “Special Things” (1980) and “Black & White” (1981). Their follow up “So Excited!” did not do as well as their previous releases; however, it did include the hit “American Music” and the iconic Prince cover “I Feel for You”. The sister’s successive release “Break Out” put them at the peak of their career. This album has since gone platinum three times over in the US, four times over in Canada and Gold in the UK. It entered the US Albums chart at No. 8 and contained the three hit singles “Jump (For My Love)”, “Automatic”, and “Neutron Dance”. The 1985 album “Contact” was the sister’s first release on RCA and like it’s predecessor it too was a hit, reaching No. 25 on the US Album Charts and going platinum in both the US and Canada.

The Pointer Sisters finished up their contract with RCA with the LPs “Hot Together” (1986) and “Serious Slammin’” (1988). While these two albums were able to chart, the girls’ career started to lose momentum. They released 2 additional albums in the 90s “Right Rhythm” (1990) and “Only Sisters Can Do That” (1993), but their next album “The Pointer Sisters Favorites” did not come out until 15 years later. However they did tour on and off together between these releases.

Born the daughter of famous Dutch saxophonist Hans Dulfer, Candy grew up immersed in jazz and funk, and began playing the drums at age five. By the age of six Dulfer had been introduced to the soprano saxophone before switching to alto saxophone at the age of seven. The musician’s earliest live performances came with the local concert band Jeugd Doet Leven in Zuiderwoude, before Dulfer performed her first solo on stage with her father’s band De Perikels at the age of 10. Following her recording debut on De Perikels’s 1981 album “I Didn’t Ask” and contributions to Rosa King’s Ladies Horn section, Dulfer formed her own band Funky Stuff in 1984.

By 1990 Dulfer had opened for Madonna on her European tour, performed a live improvised solo at the request of Prince, and played as a guest musician for Pink Floyds’ performance at Knebworth. 1990 also proved the year of release for Dufler’s debut album, “Saxuality”, which generated sales of over half-a-million. Led by the single “Lily Was Here”, which rose to No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the record earned a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Album and propelled the musician’s profile to that of international recognition.

Following the release Dulfer worked alongside Van Morrison and Alan Parsons, before subsequently releasing a pair of albums “Sax-a-Go-Go” and “Big Girl” in the first half of the 1990s. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Sonny Rollins and David Sanborn, the saxophonist’s influences stem from smooth jazz however combine to create a unique combination of classic R&B, blues and pop. The records “For the Love of You” (1997), “The Best of Candy Dulfer” (1998), “Girls Night Out” (1999), and ‘What Does It Take” (1999) all arrived ahead of the new millennium, before the musician collaborated with her father on the record “Dulfer Dulfer” in 2001. Led by the Smooth Jazz Chart No. 1 single “L.A. Citylights”, Dulfer’s ninth studio album “Candy Store” was released in September 2007. The album was followed in 2009 by the full-length “Funked Up & Chilled Out”, and “Crazy” in 2011.