INTERVIEW: Ruth Pointer, of the Pointer Sisters, on the many roads she’s traveled
Photo: From left, Issa Pointer (Ruth’s daughter), Ruth Pointer and Sadako Pointer (Ruth’s granddaughter) are currently touring with the Commodores. Photo courtesy of Chyna Chuan / Provided by Publicity Please with permission.
Figuratively and literally, Ruth Pointer has traveled many roads in the United States and around the world. As the Pointer Sisters, Ruth and her sisters dominated the music charts in the 1980s and had a whole generation of fans dancing to infectious beats and singing along to the catchiest of lyrics. The Pointer Sisters are behind such mega-hits as “I’m So Excited,” “Jump,” “Slow Hand” and “He’s So Shy,” among many others.
Today, Ruth still tours under the Pointer Sisters’ name, but now her colleagues on stage are her daughter, Issa Pointer, and granddaughter, Sadako Pointer. Sadly, Ruth said goodbye to her sisters — June, Bonnie and Anita, all of whom had different parts to play in the Pointer Sisters’ history — but their legacy still lives on, and Ruth is determined to keep these songs playing forever.
Now the Pointer Sisters are gearing up for a special double-bill concert tour with the Commodores and the Spinners. It’s appropriately titled An Evening of Icons, and the tour stops at the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Oct. 5, followed by dates in Florida and Nevada. There are also some stand-alone dates for the Pointer Sisters, including a late-October gig in Atlantic City.
Recently Ruth talked with Hollywood Soapbox about her past with the best-selling Pointer Sisters, what travel is like in 2024 and what the word sisterhood means to her. Here’s what she had to say …
On whether Ruth is still nervous before taking the stage …
“Now more than ever because I’m the only one. When me and my sisters performed together, I always felt like I had that strength of them because we were always together, and we always sang together. We knew each other so intimately that if there was something that was going to be missed, the other sister knew exactly how to pick it up without even a moment’s notice. … I feel a little more pressure being the lone sister left, you know.”
On whether these iconic songs ever grow tiresome to sing …
“It doesn’t get old. I find that I treasure the songs more now than I ever had. I find myself sort of loving the lyrics to certain songs that I probably didn’t pay much attention to in the beginning. I love the songs. I think they’re just great songs. I think because I was younger or whatever the reason, back then we were just singing fun songs, and they were just fun. But now, it’s like I really, really hear what I’m singing, and it means something to me.”
On how danceable these tunes can be …
“We definitely love to see movement, even in the audience. It’s like a lot of times we’d be performing, and I don’t know what kind of restriction security or whatever would have where they didn’t want the people to stand up or go in the aisles and dance. We’d be like, ‘No, leave them alone.’ That’s why we’re here. This is not a television show. We want participation because it gives us energy.”
On the romance and love that are clearly subjects of these iconic songs …
“I think we definitely latched on to that because it’s something that’s ever-lasting. You always want love. We always wanted to implement love and joy. That’s something that I think is forever.”
On what it was like to write songs with her sisters …
“It was fun. It was fun. Sometimes it was chaotic because we’d get into arguments about who wrote what and how much did I write. … But in the end, we loved what we wrote. I think the sisterhood that we shared had a lot to do with our minds being in the same place.”
On what it’s like to perform with the Commodores …
“We are fans of one another. Yeah, it’s always wonderful to see the guys, and hopefully they feel the same way about us. We know that we came up during a time when music was a lot of fun, and we used to do those big, huge bus tours where we would run across another band that was out on the road at the same time. And so it just brings back a lot of memories. Their songs bring back memories for us, and hopefully our songs bring back memories for them.”
On what travel in 2024 is like …
“Absolutely it gets tiresome. The road is tough. It’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s probably something that artists aren’t aware of when they’re thinking about going into this business. You sort of look at traveling as a luxury. Even today when I come back from an engagement, people are always quick to say, ‘How was your trip,’ like you’re going on vacation or something. Things have changed considerably with traveling, especially since 9/11. … Me and my peers, we talk about it often about how much fun it used to be traveling because you could take as many bags as you wanted. You didn’t have to pay extra for the weight. … You could pull right up to the curb. You could take your whole family to the gate, even on the plane. We had parties on the plane. You didn’t have to be concerned about what you packed, whether it was too much liquid. All of that changed, so traveling is like a job. You have to be strategic about the way you pack. You’ve got to make sure about what you’re going to be wearing going through security with that conveyor belt, and now I’ve got a knee replacement. So I’ve got to go through a special thing because I have metal in my body. It’s crazy, you know, and it’s not as much fun as it used to be. The fun is once I get to my destination, and I’m getting ready to do the show.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Pointer Sisters are currently touring with the Commodores and the Spinners. Click here for more information and tickets.
