The Frederick

Brown Jr. Amphitheater welcomes The Pointers, formerly known as The Pointer

Sisters, one of the more eclectic groups in music history, to the stage

this Friday and Saturday. The Pointer Sisters have enjoyed success with

a number of different musical genres in a career that has spanned over

30 years.

Ruth, Anita,

Bonnie and June Pointer were the daughters of Reverend Elton Pointer and

his wife, Sarah. They began their musical careers by singing in church

with Ruth directing the junior choir. After high school, Bonnie and June

tried to make a go of a professional music career and were known as Pointers-A-Pair.

Anita eventually quit her job and joined her sisters and they were soon

known as The Pointer Sisters.

Their career

started with doing session work with artists like Grace Slick and Taj

Mahal. Bill Graham, who was also Eddie Money's manager in later years,

signed the girls and they eventually got a record deal with Atlantic Records.

After recording an album for Atlantic, the girls switched labels and had

former Graham partner David Rubison manage their career. Ruth then quit

her job and the sisters were reunited on stage. Their music was a fusion

of all the styles they loved, including jazz and scat and be-bop.

They hit the

charts with the songs "Yes We Can-Can" and "Wang Dang Doodle"

both featured on their self-titled album, but it was their second album

"That's A Plenty" which featured the song "Fairytale"

that brought the group their biggest taste of success so far. "Fairytale"

was a country song that won the Grammy award for Best Country Song by

a Duo or Group. It also led the sisters to the stage of the Grand Ole

Opry. They were the first black women to ever perform in that venue.

The Pointer

Sisters continued to enjoy more and more success. Each album had hits

on the pop charts and the group appeared in the film "Car Wash"

and the film's soundtrack with the song "You Gotta Believe."

They released the album "Having a Party" not knowing that it

would be the last album that all four of them would record together. Bonnie

left the group to go solo and signed with Motown, while her sisters also

changed labels and their musical style a bit.

The Pointer

Sisters next album featured a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire"

and went gold. They followed it up with the albums, "Energy,"

"Priority," "Special Things," and "Black and

White," each producing their share of hits including "Slow Hand."

June released her first solo album in 1983 and returned on the group's

next album "Breakout," which led the group to the pinnacle of

their careers. "Breakout" featured their biggest hit "Jump

(For My Love)," as well as "Neutron Dance," which was also

a standout on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. "Breakout" also

featured a re-release of "I'm So Excited" which was on a previous

album but did not chart well. This time around it was a huge hit. "Breakout"

went triple platinum and gave the group two more Grammy Awards.

The Pointer

Sisters released more albums, one coming out every year from 1985-1990.

They saw some songs perform well on the pop and R&B charts and enjoy

critical success. In 1993 they released "Only Sisters Can Do That"

and in 1994 they got their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They also

joined the cast of "Ain't Misbehavin'" and toured the country

for 46 weeks, recording a cast album and broadening their career once

again. In 1996, The Pointer Sisters performed at the closing ceremonies

of the Olympics in Atlanta. Other recent highlights include performances

with The Boston Pops, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a duet with Clint

Black and appearances on the soundtracks for "The Nutty Professor,"

"The Associate," and "Two if By Sea."

The Pointer

Sisters will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday May 2 and 3 at the

Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. A limited number of tickets are still

available for $45. Phone 770-631-0630. After Five Tux will open the show.

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