Bonnie Pointer is an American singer best known for her work with the vocal group, ‘The Poiter Sisters’. She sings songs in the Soul, R&B, disco, funk genres.
After leaving The Pointers in 1977, she managed to produce several solo hits including a disco cover of The Elgins’ “Heaven Must Have Sent You” in 1979.
Pointer was born on the 11th of July, 1950 in Oakland, the county seat of Alameda County in California. Therefore, she is 69 years of age as of 2019.
There is no provided information regarding her height since she has not disclosed it to the public yet. However, this information is currently under review and will be updated soon.
Bonnie was born as Patricia Eva Pointer to parents Sarah Pointer and Elton Pointer. Prior to this, she was raised along with her five siblings; June Pointer, Anita Pointer, Ruth Pointer, Aaron Pointer, and Fritz Pointer.
Most importantly, she started singing as a teenager with her younger sister, June Pointer. With time, they founded the vocal group, The Pointers. The same year after founding the group, their older sister, Anita joined them. Citing this, the two started off by recording several singles for Atlantic Records between 1971 and 1972. By the end of 1972, they had also recruited another one of their sisters, Ruth.
In 1973, they released their first album which included the hit song “Yes We Can”. Between 1973-77, they don in 1940s fashion and sang in various occasions. Their performances were greatly likened to that of The Andrew’s Sisters of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. In 1974, they got their first Grammy with the crossover country hit “Fairytale” written by Anita and Bonnie.
In 1977, Bonnie Pointer left the group to start her own solo career. In 1978, she signed with Motown and released “Heaven Must Have Sent You” which attained the 11th position on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. After this, she released three more solo albums for Motown then left the studio.
The nest time Bonnie Pointer was seen after this was in Episode 20 of the 14th season of Soul Train on the 2nd of March 1985. Since then, she still performs, and occasionally reunites with her sisters to perform. In early 2008, she went on a tour in Europe. She also started working on her autobiography. Next, after this, she performed at the Trump Taj Mahal on the 25th of October 2008. Two years later, she made an appearance in the romantic thriller “Road to Nowhere”.
Pointer has been married to her Motown Records Producer named Jeffrey Bowen since 1978. However, the couple got separated a couple of years after. Citing this, Bonnie finally filed for a divorce in the year 2014 that was finalized two years later.
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The Pointer Sisters How Many Members Remain in the Iconic Group
“Heaven Must Have Sent You” was one of two remakes of Motown hits recorded by Bonnie Pointer for her 1978 self-titled solo debut album which was released by Motown: Pointer would state: “I wanted to cut that tune and the other old Motown tune: ‘When I’m Gone’, simply because I’ve always dug them.”
Pointer has stated that she suggested to Berry Gordy that he have her remake “Heaven Must Have Sent You” as a disco track after Pointer had heard the Village People hit “Y.M.C.A.” and realized that “Heaven Must Have Sent You” would work well with an arrangement similar to that of “Y.M.C.A”.
Set to a 12/8 shuffle beat, Pointer’s disco version of “Heaven Must Have Sent You” features violins in the background throughout the track: the ringing of rhythmic tubular bells is heard during the intro, giving way to a funky bass guitar heard as a refrain throughout the song.
The bass guitar part can be heard three times between the verses, and the bells are heard again in the instrumental interlude played mid-song. During the track’s outro, Pointer sings “It’s heaven, it’s heaven, I’ll love you more and more each day…”
in a lower register with a raspy tone, reminiscent of Louis Armstrong. Pointer had spontaneously “channeled” Armstrong while recording her vocal for the album version of “Heaven Must Have Sent You” and the result was considered sufficiently catchy to be brought forward to the disco version of the song.
Issued with an edit of the original album version as B-side, the disco version of Pointer’s “Heaven Must Have Sent You” became a hit over the summer and early fall of 1979 peaking at #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on Cash Box that October. She also scored a minor hit on the Adult Contemporary chart at #43.
The special four-on-the-floor re-recorded Motown Disco 12″ Single mix of “Heaven Must Have Sent You” includes a much longer instrumental interlude with extra percussion and string solos towards the middle of the song. It was Side 1, while the album version was Side 2.
Bonnie sits at an approximate net worth of $1 Million – $5 Million as of 2019. She has earned her lucrative income from her successful career as a singer.
There is no provided information regarding Bonnie’s death. Nevertheless, the only information regarding death is that her sister June died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on April 11, 2006, at the age of 52.
Prior to this, a family statement said she died “in the arms of her sisters Ruth and Anita and [with] her brothers Aaron and Fritz by her side.
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