Sandro Monetti
Host
Michael Jay
Guest
Anita Pointer
Guest
Stevi Meredith
Guest
Bonnie Pointer
Guest
ABOUT THE EPISODE
Don’t go chasing waterfalls – spice up your life instead by listening to ‘Who’s The Best…Girl Group?’
Providing the girl power in the studio are Anita and Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters, whose 13 Top 20 hits make their group a leading candidate. They tell host Sandro Monetti about their journey to the top – and what it takes to stay there.
Also joining the debate in the studio are top talent manager Stevi Meredith and Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Michael Jay.
There are so many candidates for the title beyond just The Pointer Sisters, TLC and The Spice Girls. How about The Supremes, The Bangles, The Go-Go’s, Destiny’s Child, En Vogue, The Andrews Sisters, Wilson Phillips, Bananarama, All Saints or, more recently, Girls Aloud, Fifth Harmony and Little Mix?
The public have been voting – and when the result is announced at the end of the show, all hell breaks loose in the studio!
I’M SO EXCITED AND I JUST CAN’T HIDE IT
by Sandro Monetti, host, Who’s The Best podcast
Few girl groups have lasted as long or been so admired as this episode’s special guests, The Pointer Sisters.
Their career has spanned five decades, attracting three Grammy Awards and a string of hits like ‘I’m So Excited’, ‘Neutron Dance’, ‘Fairytale’ and ‘Automatic’.
The group’s fashion is almost as well-known as their music, and those memorable stage outfits – a mix of vintage dresses and custom designed costumes – now take up a whole floor in a display at LA’s Hollywood Museum, so that’s certainly the place to go if you like neon miniskirts and giant shoulder pads!
A sense of humour is crucial to survive and thrive in the music business – and as you’ll hear from guests Anita Pointer and Bonnie Pointer on this episode, ‘Who’s the Best… Girl Group’, they are as funny as they are talented!
Also crucial is not letting anyone stop you from achieving your dreams. In the case of The Pointer Sisters, the objection came at home – their parents, both preachers, banned them from listening to anything except gospel music, believing rock n’ roll was the music of the devil. But the girls rebelled – listening to as much as they could, along with other forms of music, at friends’ houses.
They developed a wide range of tastes and influences which later inspired their glorious career over the years, with pop, rock, disco, jazz, country, blues, soul, funk, dance and electronic music all included in their repertoire. When MTV arrived, they found brash, hook-heavy pop gems which were perfect for the eighties and put their videos in constant rotation.
If you want to learn more, check out Anita’s fantastic new book, ‘Fairytale’, which details not only their rise to fame, but also the love and rivalry between the various sisters along the way, both for the lead vocal spot and for men.
Also joining Anita and Bonnie on the show is Grammy-winning songwriter producer Michael Jay, who has written for everyone from Celine Dion to Eminem and co-wrote the Anita Pointer solo track, ‘Have A Little Faith in Love’. The other studio guest is Stevi Meredith, a top talent manager whose vast knowledge of the music industry makes her a perfect panelist to debate ‘Who’s the Best… Girl Group?’
Did they dare to vote against The Pointer Sisters? Well you’ll have to listen and find out! But there are certainly plenty of other contenders up for discussion, including The Supremes, The Spice Girls, The Bangles, The Go-Go’s, Destiny’s Child, TLC, En Vogue, The Andrews Sisters, Wilson Phillips and Bananarama, as well as more recent acts such as All Saints, Girls Aloud, Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. The public have been voting and I announce the result at the end of the show – but with their unique place in music history as great survivors and genre spanning hitmakers, The Pointer Sisters will take some beating!