The Pointer Sisters are an American Grammy Award-winning Pop/R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over three decades together, their repertoire has included diverse genres as pop music, disco, jazz, bebop, country, soul, funk, dance, new wave and rock. The group originally comprised three sisters when Anita joined her younger sisters Bonnie and June in 1969 after they had been performing as "Pointers, a Pair". The line-up became a quartet when eldest sister Ruth joined the group in 1972 before they recorded their debut album. They achieved their greatest commercial success later as a trio after Bonnie left the group to commence a solo career. History Early days As children the girls were encouraged to sing gospel music by their parents Reverend Elton and Mrs Sarah Pointer, but in their household they were told rock and roll and the blues