The Pointer Sisters - The Second Disc

Oooh, This I Need: Adam Mattera Talks ‘Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook’

April 21, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

Last year, The Second Disc had nothing but good things to say about Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook, Cherry Red’s triple-disc tribute to the music of Prince. The set told a story of The Artist’s massive impact on pop, rock and soul by way of songs he gave others to record and a galaxy of genre-bending covers. In a year of considerable challenges in Prince fandom, it was a veritable oasis in a desert. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Mattera, the curator and producer of Dearly Beloved. For…

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Interviews

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Blues, Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Funk, Gospel, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

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Amanda Palmer, Andre Cymone, Crystal Waters, Dead or Alive, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Rogers, Maceo Parker, Martika, Patti Labelle, Paula Abdul, Prince, Robyn, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, Sheena Easton, Stephanie Mills, The Bangles, The Pointer Sisters, Valerie Carter

Holiday Gift Guide Review: ‘Dearly Beloved: A Prince Celebration’

December 20, 2024 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

The holidays are a time of good cheer and gratitude, where we all (in theory) come together to share in a common joy. There has not been a lot of common joy if you’re a Prince fan; we don’t need to re-litigate it more than we did this summer, but it’s worth noting that the quest to make intriguing, posthumous Prince projects under the current estate organization has maybe gotten worse than when we published our editorial. But there have been celebrations of The Purple One that honor his restless creative spirit….

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Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews

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Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Funk, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

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Andre Cymone, Dead or Alive, Kenny Rogers, Martika, Paula Abdul, Prince, Robyn, Stephanie Mills, The Bangles, The Pointer Sisters

Joy in Repetition: Cherry Red’s ‘Dearly Beloved’ Pays Tribute to Prince, the Songwriter

September 10, 2024 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

Between the muted 40th anniversary celebration of Purple Rain and the bizarre drama over an estate-sanctioned Netflix documentary on his life and career, Prince fans could probably use a win lately. A new compilation from Cherry Red looks like it might finally offer one. Dearly Beloved – A Prince Songbook is an unexpectedly robust-looking 3CD set that will pay tribute to the Minneapolis icon as a songwriter – one whose classic hits have become pop standards, with so much talent overflowing from his person that he penned more than a few massive hits…

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News

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Blues, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Funk, Gospel, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

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Touch My Heart: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Expands “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music” Box Set

August 27, 2024 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Back in 1998, The Country Music Foundation teamed with Warner Bros. Records to release From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music. The 3-CD box set was divided into three thematic discs – The Stringband Era, The Soul Country Years, and Forward with Pride – which reflected on the immense contributions of African-Americans to country music in 60 songs. Today, the spotlight shines even more brightly on the black experience in the genre, in no small part due to the release earlier this year of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. The album…

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News

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Box Sets, CD

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Country

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Bobby Hebb, Charley Pride, Dobie Gray, Esther Phillips, Lead Belly, Linda Martell, Ray Charles, Rhiannon Giddens, Solomon Burke, The Pointer Sisters, The Supremes, Various Artists

Love Will Save the Day: Edsel’s “Disco Discharge Presents Box of Sin” Chronicles ’80s Gay Club Scene

December 5, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 4 Comments

The Disco Discharge series, dormant for over a decade, has been recently reactivated by Demon Music Group’s Edsel label for one of its boldest projects yet. The 5-CD collection Disco Discharge Presents Box of Sin (also available on 4 LPs of highlights) is a journey through the gay club scene of 1980-1989 via 54 full-length or extended tracks from artists both expected and unexpected – including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Dreamgirls Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Bronski Beat, Laura Branigan, Dusty Springfield, Liza Minnelli, and…

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News

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Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

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Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, R&B/Soul

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Aretha Franklin, Bananarama, Barry Manilow, Bronski Beat, Donna Summer, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Liza Minnelli, The Communards, The Pointer Sisters, Various Artists, Whitney Houston

The Weekend Stream: September 23, 2023

September 23, 2023 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. Enjoy a hometown birthday present from The Boss and a holiday collection first put on CD by The Second Disc – plus remixes from Madonna and The Art of Noise and so much more – all in this week’s latest round-up. Bruce Springsteen, The Live Series: Songs of New Jersey (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple Music / Amazon) In honor of Springsteen’s 74th birthday,…

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The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

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Boz Scaggs, Bruce Springsteen, Lorne Greene, Louis Armstrong, Madonna, Patti Page, Pulp, Roger Williams, The Art of Noise, The Pointer Sisters

Christmas Conga! Real Gone Announces First Wave of Holiday Lineup

October 3, 2019 by Sam Stone | 1 Comment

Sure, you can wait to find Real Gone’s lineup of holiday-themed titles under the tree, but why wait? A trio of merry Yuletide albums will be available on color vinyl on November 1, including Cyndi Lauper’s Merry Christmas… Have A Nice Life!, the Home Alone Christmas soundtrack compilation, and the soundtrack to Love Actually. First up: Cyndi Lauper’s Merry Christmas… Have A Nice Life! This often-overlooked slice of Lauper’s discography is a fresh spin on the time-honored tradition of the Christmas album. The album was partly inspired by motherhood; in fact, the story goes that…

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News

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Vinyl

Genres:

Holiday, Pop, Soundtracks

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Alan Jackson, Atlantic Starr, Cyndi Lauper, Darlene Love, Dido, John Williams, Joni Mitchell, Kelly Clarkson, Lisa Fischer, Maroon 5, Mel Tormé, Norah Jones, Otis Redding, Southside Johnny, TLC, The Beach Boys, The Pointer Sisters, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Sunny Day: Warner Licenses Sesame Street Catalog for Digital, Streaming, and Future Physical Reissues

December 21, 2018 by Sam Stone | 6 Comments

Warner Music Group and Sesame Workshop have recently announced a joint effort that marks the relaunch of Sesame Street Records, the label that released over 60 classic originalSesame Street albums from 1970 to 1984. To celebrate 50 years since the program first aired, the extensive Sesame Street music catalog, including original titles and newer collections from Golden Music, Koch and Sony Wonder, has finally joined the streaming age. As of this writing, a whopping 119 titles–many previously unavailable in the digital domain–have been added to streaming services and digital download retailers. The effort is…

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News

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CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Everything Else, Soundtracks

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B.B. King, Carpenters, Celine Dion, Dinah Shore, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Gloria Estefan, Johny Cash, José Feliciano, Kenny Loggins, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Little Richard, Malo, Patti Labelle, Paul Simon, Pete Seeger, Ray Charles, Robin Gibb, Sesame Street, The Pointer Sisters

Real Gone Prepares ‘Love Actually’ White Vinyl Reissue, Grateful Dead ‘Road Trips Vol. 3, No, 4’ 3-CD Set for January

December 20, 2018 by Sam Stone | 1 Comment

As temperatures continue to drop here in the northeast where The Second Disc HQ is stationed, Real Gone Music have announced two reissues that will be good company on a day spent indoors. On January 25, the label will release a 2-LP white vinyl edition of the Love Actually soundtrack in its first-ever vinyl pressing, plus a 3-CD reissue of a hard-to-find Grateful Dead concert collection, Road Trips, Vol. 3, No. 4. With an endearing and clever plot featuring ten interlocking stories and star-studded cast of Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson,…

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News

Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Billy Mack, Dido, Joni Mitchell, Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5, Norah Jones, Otis Redding, Sugababes, The Beach Boys, The Calling, The Grateful Dead, The Pointer Sisters, Wyclef Jean

Fairytale: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Reissue, Expand The Pointer Sisters’ First Two Albums

June 6, 2018 by Joe Marchese | 4 Comments

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM Long before they wanted a man with a “Slow Hand” or found that “He’s So Shy,” The Pointer Sisters were spellbinding listeners with an unusual blend of retro rhythm and blues, jazz, funk, soul and even country. Cherry Red’s SoulMusic Records imprint has recently brought together their first two LPs for Blue Thumb Records on a 2-CD set. The Pointer Sisters and That’s a Plenty established Anita, Ruth, June, and Bonnie Pointer as one of the first families of American music. The latter title has been selling secondhand…

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News

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R&B/Soul

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The Pointer Sisters

BBR Is On “Fire” with Expanded Reissue of “Pointer Sisters’ Greatest Hits”

May 25, 2016 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

One of the ten songs on The Pointer Sisters’ Greatest Hits is “The Love Too Good to Last,” one of four songs reprised from the trio’s 1982 album Special Things. Happily, however, Ruth, June and Anita Pointer’s special things certainly have lasted. Big Break Records has in recent years reissued the group’s complete Planet Records/RCA discography from 1978’s Energy through their label swansong, 1988’s Serious Slammin’, in remastered and expanded editions. Now, BBR is culminating its reissue program and adding the cherry to the top of the sundae with a deluxe, essential…

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News

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Pop, R&B/Soul

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The Pointer Sisters

Big Break Is “On Fire” With Latest Quartet Of Releases From Anita Pointer, Silver Convention, More

December 12, 2014 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Anita Pointer’s solo debut might have seemed inevitable. She had sung lead on many of The Pointer Sisters’ biggest hits including Allen Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” and co-wrote the Grammy-winning “Fairytale.” By the time she released Love For What It Is on RCA in 1987, Anita was following in the footsteps of sisters Bonnie (who left the group in 1977 for a Motown solo contract) and June (with 1983’s Baby Sister). The album arrived on the heels of the success of “Too Many Times,” a duet with Earl Thomas Conley that…

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News

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Disco/Dance, R&B/Soul

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Anita Pointer, Rinder and Lewis, Silver Convention, The Pointer Sisters

BBR Completes Pointer Sisters’ Planet Catalogue with “Priority” and “Black and White” Remasters

November 7, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Between 1978 and 1988, The Pointer Sisters recorded a stunning series of nine albums with producer Richard Perry (Barbra Streisand, Harry Nilsson), first for his Elektra-distributed Planet Records label, and then for RCA, to whom Perry eventually sold Planet. During this period, June, Ruth and Anita finally were able to Break Out on the U.S. charts – to quote the title of the group’s multi-platinum 1983 album which introduced four U.S. Top 10 hits. Previously the Pointers had mastered jazz, blues, funk and even country – the latter with the Grammy-winning “Fairytale.” …

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News, Reviews

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Pop, R&B/Soul

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The Pointer Sisters

Merry Christmas, Baby! “A Very Special Christmas” Reissued with New DVD at Target Stores

October 30, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 9 Comments

If you can get over the shock of a good amount of holiday CDs available on the shelves at Target, you’ll find a surprise new exclusive: a reissue of the classic 1987 compilation A Very Special Christmas with a brand new DVD about the long-running holiday benefit series. Produced by acclaimed engineer-turned-label impresario Jimmy Iovine, A Very Special Christmas featured the brightest stars in pop music, from Springsteen to Madonna, recording new versions of classic carols (plus one modern classic, Run-D.M.C.’s “Christmas in Hollis”). Nearly all of its 15 tracks have become staples of…

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News

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DVD

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Bob Seger, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, Madonna, Run-D.M.C., Stevie Nicks, Sting, The Pointer Sisters, The Pretenders, U2

Review: A Quartet From BBR – The Pointer Sisters, Buddy Miles, Pharoah Sanders, Greg Phillinganes

May 18, 2012 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Among the most recent reissues from Big Break Records is a 1974 album from Electric Flag founder and Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles entitled All the Faces of Buddy Miles. But one could easily title any given batch of music from the Cherry Red-affiliated label as All the Faces of BBR, so reliably diverse is each group of the label’s releases. Today’s capsule reviews look at four of the latest from the Big Break team! Buddy Miles, All the Faces of Buddy Miles (Columbia KC-33089, 1974 – reissued Big Break CDBBR 0123,…

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Reviews

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Genres:

R&B/Soul

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Buddy Miles, Greg Phillinganes, Pharoah Sanders, The Pointer Sisters

Big Break’s Full Summer Slate Includes Isleys, Pointers, Prince Partners

July 13, 2011 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

The fine folks at Big Break Records have got another large batch of new titles for release in the U.K. on July 25, and we figured now was a good time to share not only the track lists and details with you, but look ahead at some of the huge titles they’re prepping for next month. There are a few really great, underrated titles from some big-name acts in next week’s batch, including expansions of The Isley Brothers’ Between the Sheets (1983) and I Can See Clearly Now (1972) by Johnny Nash. But…

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News

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R&B/Soul

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Johnny Nash, Keith Barrow, Prince, The Gap Band, The Isley Brothers, The Joneses, The Pointer Sisters

Release Round-Up: Week of July 5

July 5, 2011 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Erasure, Wonderland / The Circus: Deluxe Editions (EMI) Vince Clarke and Andy Bell’s first two albums, expanded with bonus B-sides and remixes across two CDs and DVDs full of live footage. (Official site) Jim Capaldi, Dear Mr. Fantasy: The Jim Capaldi Story (Universal U.K.) The late Traffic legend is memorialized in a four-disc box set. (Official site) Paul McCartney, Driving Rain (MPL/Concord) Another Macca remaster, this one of Paul’s 2001 album. No frills, but I imagine “Freedom” will get officially included on the track list. (Official site) Ashford and Simpson, High Rise: Expanded Edition / Switch, Am I…

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News, Release Round-Up

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Box Sets

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Paul McCartney, The Pointer Sisters, Traffic

Friday Feature: “Night Shift”

April 22, 2011 by Joe Marchese | 7 Comments

Fate works in mysterious ways. Dionne Warwick was home one evening, half-asleep while the 1982 film Night Shift played on her television set. “I didn’t really pay attention to the names that were going up on the credits,” Warwick recounted, “but I knew that was Burt Bacharach’s melody. There was no way in the world it could be anybody else’s.” She was speaking of “That’s What Friends Are For,” an all-but-forgotten song written for the 1982 film Night Shift, Ron Howard’s major big screen directorial debut. “Friends” set lyrics to Bacharach’s main…

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News

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Soundtracks

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Burt Bacharach, Friday Feature, Marshall Crenshaw, Quarterflash, Rod Stewart, The Pointer Sisters

Big Break Delivers Big Slate of Soul Classics in March

February 18, 2011 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Our friends at the U.K.-based Big Break label haven’t given much thought lately to a break! A recently-announced slate of March releases bring the label’s total catalogue to nearly 50 titles since its inception in 2009, and covers a wide and diverse swath of soulful artists. Some are returning to the label (The Pointer Sisters, Deniece Williams, Billy Ocean) and others are making their label debuts (Dennis Edwards, Ashford and Simpson, The Originals). Deniece Williams is recipient of her third Big Break reissue. My Melody was her 1981 triumph co-produced by Thom…

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News

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The Pointer Sisters

Release Round-Up: Week of November 23

November 22, 2010 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

With most retailers putting out their new releases today to get a jump on the inevitable holiday weekend blitz, here’s the big catalogue releases for the week a day early! Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson’s Vision (Epic/Legacy) A three-DVD set that includes just about any MJ video you could be searching for. Of course, the one unreleased clip just officially hit the Internet, making you wonder what the fuss is all about. Oh wait, it’s Michael Jackson. (Official site) Jay-Z, The Hits Collection Vol. 1 (Def Jam) The first domestic compilation by one…

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News, Release Round-Up

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Box Sets

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Michael Jackson, Mr. Mister, Nine Inch Nails, Pet Shop Boys, The Doors, The Pointer Sisters, The Rolling Stones, The Who

Release Round-Up: Week of November 9

November 9, 2010 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Damn the Torpedoes: Deluxe Edition (Geffen/UMe) With a bonus disc of B-sides and unreleased outtakes and an optional Blu-Ray audio version, audiophiles hopefully won’t have a reason to say “don’t do me like that” with this set. (Official site) Bon Jovi, Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (Island) If 1994’s Cross Road isn’t enough of a Bon Jovi comp for you, this career-spanning set (available in single and double-disc formats) combines all the usual hits with two new tracks (or four, depending on what set you buy). (Official…

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News, Release Round-Up

Formats:

Box Sets

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Bing Crosby, Bon Jovi, Pink Floyd, Poison, Queensryche, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Pointer Sisters, The Rolling Stones

And They Just Can’t Hide It: Big Break Records to Reissue Two Pointer Sisters Classics

October 7, 2010 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

If you’re a reader of The Second Disc and you’re about to lose control, then we think you’ll like this story: Cherry Red’s Big Break imprint is reissuing two classic albums by The Pointer Sisters: Special Things (1980) and So Excited! (1982). The Pointer Sisters were instantly recognized as a unique R&B group with their self-titled debut LP in 1973. Their voices were strong and their style was distinctively retro, dealing heavily in jazz and be-bop. They even decked themselves out in costumes of the period, to boot. But by 1977, Bonnie…

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News

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Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

The Pointer Sisters