The Pointer Sisters

The Pointer Sisters started out in the '70s as the quartet of Ruth, Anita, Bonnie and June, rocking funky rhythms and somewhat risque material. As the decade matured (or graduated to hangover phase), Bonnie dropped out of the group and the Sisters edged towards pop, covering Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" and meeting with considerable popular kudos. "He's So Shy," "Slow Hand" and "Jump" followed. While the move to pop certainly had its tradeoffs, tracks like "He's So Shy" were pop triumphs with at least a hint of depth and several leg-warmers' worth of fun. By the time "Jump" came around in 1984, the simplistic songwriting -- while popular -- was getting a little hard to sustain. The sisters continued touring into the millennium, though, enjoying major popularity -- especially in Europe -- on the classic soul and R&B package-tour circuit. On April 11, 2006, June Pointer died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, and the Sisters went on indefinite hiatus.