Trailblazing pop and country singer Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters has died at 74

Her publicist told Insider that she died on Saturday at the age of 74.

Roger Neal, a media representative for Pointer, said that she had cancer and was surrounded by her family when she died.

Pointer was a founding member of the Pointer Sisters, a vocal group from Oakland that achieved critical and commercial success in the '70s and '80s.

The only original member of the group is Ruth.

"We are comforted by the fact that she is with her daughter, Jada, and her sisters June, and Bonnie, at peace," Ruth said in a statement. She was the one who kept us together. Each of us will have her love in our hearts. During this time, please respect our privacy. Heaven is a place of love and beauty withAnita there.

Jada died in 2003 Pointer was a member of the family.

The hit single "Yes We Can Can" was released by Pointer and her sisters in 1973. They had many of their songs found chart success.

The song "Fairytale" was co-written by Pointer and her sister, Bonnie, and went to the country charts. Elvis Presley covered the song on his final album, but it went on to win a gramophone award for best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. Pointer was the lead vocalist on many of the group's hits.

Pointer said in a 2006 interview that Elvis wanted to record that song. I think Elvis did a great job. I was really happy. In his version, he captured the emotion.

The Pointer Sisters were the first female African American act to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and the first contemporary artists to perform at the San Francisco Opera House.

Pointer said in a 2020 memoir she co-authored that she had no idea the path her life would take, the people she would meet, and the things she would accomplish. Hit or miss is not the most important. It is the experience I have had, the lives I have touched, and the memories I have made.