Who was Anita Pointer, The Pointer Sisters star who died of cancer?

Anita Pointer, one of the four sibling singers who earned pop success as The Pointer Sisters, died Saturday at the age of 74, her publicist announced. She died while battling cancer. Anita was visiting family members at the time of her death, publicist Roger Neal said in a statement. Anita, Ruth, Bonnie and June Pointer, born the daughters of a pastor, grew up singing in their father’s church in Oakland, California.

Anita Pointer, one of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters, had several pop, country, and R&B songs in the 1970s and 1980s, including "I'm So Excited," "Jump (For My Love)," and "Fire." According to publicist Roger Neal, Pointer passed away at home in Beverly Hills while surrounded by her family. Anita was the second eldest of four sisters. She joined the group as a trio after quitting her work as a secretary, June and Bonnie, a couple, in 1969.

The Pointer Sisters later became a quartet for a while with Ruth, the only one of the original singing sisters still alive, though Bonnie left the group in the late 1970s and they became a trio once again. Bonnie Pointer left the group in 1977, signing a solo deal with Motown Records but enjoying only modest success. “We were devastated,” Anita Pointer said of the departure in 1990. “We did a show the night she left, but after that, we just stopped. We thought it wasn’t going to work without Bonnie.”

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The Pointer Sisters then went back to being a trio after Bonnie quit the group in the late 1970s. Later, Ruth, the last surviving original vocal sister, joined the group as a quartet. In 1977, Bonnie Pointer broke away from the trio and began a solo career with Motown Records, although she had only minor success. Anita Pointer remarked on the departure in 1990, “We did a show the night she left, but after that, we just stopped. We thought it wasn’t going to work without Bonnie.” Moreover, at the age of 52, June Pointer passed away from cancer in 2006. The Pointer sisters also have two surviving brothers, Fritz and Aaron.

Prior to Roxie McKain Pointer, Anita had a daughter named Jada who passed away in 2003, leaving Anita to care for Roxie. "While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter Jada and her sisters June andBonnie and at peace. She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so long. Her love of our family will live on in each of us," the family said in a statement.

Their debut album in 1973 produced their first hit single 'Yes We Can Can'. Among their bigger hits were 'Fire' in 1978, 'He's So Shy' in 1980, 'Slow Hand' in 1981, and 'Neutron Dance', 'Automatic' and 'Jump' in 1983. 'I'm So Excited' from 1982 remains a standard. In recent years, the group continued performing with Ruth singing along with her daughter Issa and granddaughter Sadako.