Few musical acts have seen the extreme highs and lows of the Pointer Sisters. From their humble beginnings in West Oakland to the center of the pop music scene, they’ve endured more than 40 years under the harsh heat of the media spotlight. Their music entertained and brought joy to millions of fans around the world, but for Ruth Pointer, the journey wasn’t always a happy one. In Still So Excited!: My Life as a Pointer Sister Ruth opens up for the first time about the troubling stories behind the music, the cocaine-dusted road of fame, and how she finally reached sobriety through a near-death experience.
The group’s immense success and multiple hit songs thrust the sisters into international stardom, winning three Grammy awards and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. The successes lead to money and recognition, but also the challenges and temptations which accompany fame and fortune. Still So Excited!: My Life as a Pointer Sister speaks to the hardships of Ruth Pointer’s drug addiction and personal life with revealing detail and devastating honesty. Other highlights include:
• How Gospel and the forbidden fruit of “Rock and Roll” blended to influence the sisters during their childhood
• What advice jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie offered the group when asked for rehearsal notes
• Inside looks at the celebrity cocaine and crack culture of the 1970s and 80s
• Her stealth brush with Scientology through a Narconon program
• Ruth’s affair and subsequent marriage to Temptations star Dennis Edwards
• A famous clash with singer Paul Anka, who showed them the door after their first engagement in Las Vegas
• Celebrity friendships with Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson, Carol Burnett, Burt Reynolds, Dinah Shore, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joe Namath, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner and Bette Midler
• How her son Malik helped Ruth walk the grueling road to recovery from drug addiction
• June Pointer’s tragic rape as a teen and how it led her down a destructive path of booze, pills, powders and homelessness. Her death at age 52 ended a golden era of hits.
• The continued legacy and new generation of Pointer Sisters
In Still So Excited!: My Life as a Pointer Sister, music fans of all stripes will discover insights to gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a pop culture sensation. As essential addition to any fan’s library, Ruth Pointer’s engrossing autobiography serves as a must-have keepsake that encapsulates one the most influential eras of American music.
ABOUT RUTH POINTER
Ruth Pointer began her formal vocal training as director of the junior choir in her father's church, then pursued a singing career with her sisters, Bonnie, June, and Anita. She occasionally stepped out as a solo artist, contributing to movie soundtracks and lending background vocals. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.