Fairytale: The Pointer Sisters' Family Story

by Anita Pointer, Fritz Pointer, Dave Smitherman

FAIRYTALE is the first and only book to provide inside portraits of The Pointer Sisters' formative and professional life--June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth come of age as "mold-breaking" artists during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s. See how paths chosen and challenges faced--individually and collectively--strengthened and honed their forty-eight year musical career.This is a story of love and rivalry between sisters--for lead vocals, and for men. It is also an intimate story of family love--of a sagacious, strong and caring father, and a mother's love.In recorded and transcribed interviews over several years, and family heirloom photographs and private personal letters, Anita and Fritz Pointer (sister and brother) bring to life the exciting story migration during the 1940s Great Migration of Black Americans; fifteen family members living in one house; the deeply troubling dismissal of their father from the church he helped to build; Bonnie and Anita's founding membership in the Northern California Black Panther Party; the Sisters serendipitous discovery.Fritz Pointer, one of the older brothers of June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth, brings insight, veracity and passion to this story. No one else knows the family, community, political or social history out of which The Pointer Sisters came as thoroughly and deeply as he does. Fritz has a BA in English, Creighton University, 1966; MA, African Studies, UCLA, 1971; MA, African Languages and Literature, U. Wisconsin, Madison, 1979. He has thirty years experience teaching Composition, African and African American Humanities, and History in higher education. Fritz has authored two books and several scholarly articles in his area of African Literature.Anita Pointer shares a passion with Fritz for telling the story of The Pointer Sisters--which has been their unshakeable commitment for nearly a decade. In FAIRYTALE, Anita takes us inside the relationship of the sisters, in one of America's most dynamic families, making contributions professional athletes, a college professor and world-renown entertainers singing, writing, and recording skillfully, passionately, beautifully across genres--Jazz (scat, bebop), Blues, Rock and Roll, Country & Western, Rhythm & Blues--uniquely unequaled and unparalleled in music history.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 11, 2020

Reviews

[Michael Heyliger · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fairytale" is an engrossing look into the career of the Pointer Sisters, one of the most musically versatile acts in American history. The story is narrated mostly by sister Anita, with occasional interjections from sister Bonnie and brother Fritz. There's a lot to unpack beyond the music, including everything from drug abuse to mental illness to rubbing shoulders with the Black Panthers. Although it speeds through the last 20 or so years, the meat of the Pointers' story is in the '70s and '80s anyway. Highly recommended.

[Aaron Heinsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars for nostalgia and unfiltered thoughts on Obama and the unnamed “45.” But as with so many memoirs, needs a firmer guiding hand to dig deep as well as a closer proofreading for distracting typos. But that all fades away when you’re a superfan.

[Lisa A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of the Pointers lives before and after fame. All of the Pointers were gifted, but Anita seems to have been the most erudite and the best at navigating celebrityhood. The last chapter is an anomaly, though. It doesn't sound like Anita's voice, and the vilification of Obama for fighting terrorism is unfair. There's also a lot of vitriol for Ruth. Fortunately, the sisters seem to have made peace before Anita's death.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In telling of a high-achieving African American family, Fairytale covers many major events and important figures in Black history in America. The highs were high for the singing sisters -- Grammy awards, movie appearances, playing for presidents -- and the lows were low -- drug addiction, gang rape, bipolar disorder. But The Pointer Sisters will forever remain significant in American Culture.

[Diane Dunham]

Funny, sad, wish I had known the Pointer Sisters.

[Mrs. L.E. Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

insight into the Pointer Sisters family

Absolutely love the Pointer Sister so was a no brainier to read. Can’t wait to read Ruth Pointer’s story next