They moved to Blue Thumb and made the album The Pointer Sisters 1973 which included their first hit single the Allen Toussaint

They moved to Blue Thumb and made the album The Pointer Sisters (1973), which included their first hit single, the Allen Toussaint song, “Yes We Can Can”. When Ruth saw how much fun they were having, she joined as well.The Pointer Sisters were spotted at the Whisky A Go-Go by Jerry Wexler for Atlantic Records but their single, “Don’t Try to Take the Fifth”, with June on lead vocal, did nothing. They would mimic instruments with their voices, which became one of their specialities.Most of their singing was in the church choir and their father was disappointed when, in 1971, Bonnie and June began performing as Pointers, A Pair in San Francisco clubs. Then Anita joined them and soon they were providing vocal backings for such blues and rock musicians as Taj Mahal, Boz Scaggs, Elvin Bishop and Dave Mason. Their strict upbringing forbade films, dice games and cosmetics and the children would sing to entertain themselves. He was assisted by his wife, Sarah Elizabeth, who was also a minister and, with very little money, they raised a family of six children – two sons, Fritz and Aaron, and four daughters, Ruth (born 1946), Anita (1948), Bonnie (1951) and June (1953). Although they were not a gospel group, their sound went back to their days of singing in church choirs.
During the 1950s, their father, the Rev Elton Pointer, had established the West Oakland Church of God in California.

June Pointer, singer: born East Oakland, California 30 November 1953; died Santa Monica, California 11 April 2006. With a wide range of influences, the harmony group the Pointer Sisters had a highly distinctive sound. Their hit records in the 1970s and 1980s included “Fire”, “Slow Hand” and “Jump (For My Love)”, with June Pointer, the youngest of the sisters, often singing the lead vocals. Revered as a demigod by millions of fans, the southern Indian actor Rajkumar, in a film career spanning nearly six decades, appeared in more than 210 movies in his native language, Kannada.. Mutturaju Singanalluru Puttaswamayya (Rajkumar), actor: born Gajanur, India 24 April 1929; married (three sons); died Bangalore, India 12 April 2006. Ms Kelly told the annual conference of the NASUWT teaching union in Birmingham yesterday that she had been impressed by the success of a scheme at Abbey School in Faversham, Kent, last year..

The Secretary of State for Education, Ruth Kelly, has given her backing to random drug testing in schools, praising it as a “hugely effective” way of tackling substance abuse. Mr Smith, 60, was a well-regarded headteacher of a successful east London comprehensive, who had been credited with turning the school around during more than two decades at the helm.. Until he became engulfed in the cash-for-peerages scandal, Des Smith was largely unknown on the national education stage. Teachers said classroom time for cookery lessons had been slashed since the introduction of the national curriculum 18 years ago..