When they launched their debut album in 1973, The Pointer Sisters performed on the then-current nostalgia for the earlier technology. For Anita, Ruth, Bonnie, and June, it made sense: Their tight harmonies have been tailored for a revamp of Forties, big-band jazz swing. When critic Vernon Gibbs\u2019 wrote a couple of efficiency by the group within the NME<\/em>, he peppered the overview with phrases like \u201cvintage\u201d and \u201ctradition.\u201d Writer Ellen Willis noticed the identical present, and mentioned the group\u2019s nostalgia was \u201cfantasy that didn\u2019t risk getting too real.\u201d<\/p>\n For a minimum of a number of years extra, although, the Pointers discovered it helpful to maintain one foot within the Forties and one sooner or later. Their self-titled debut blended laments that \u201cthey\u2019ve taken my memory lane and made it a six-lane freeway\u201d and the New Orleans funk of Allen Toussaint\u2019s \u201cYes We Can.\u201d Their subsequent album, 1974\u2019s That\u2019s a Plenty<\/em>, adopted the identical blueprint, with a number of harmonized jazz requirements (\u201cBlack Coffee\u201d), slick R&B (\u201cLove in Them There Hills\u201d), and nation (the Grammy-winning \u201cFairytale\u201d). But what are you able to be once you\u2019re every little thing directly?<\/p>\n Listen to The Pointer Sisters\u2019 \u201cHow Long (Betcha\u2019 Got a Chick on the Side)\u201d now.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n That was the query that the Pointers tried to reply with their third album, Steppin\u2019<\/em> (1975). As Ruth wrote in her 2016 autobiography, Still So Excited! My Life as a Pointer Sister<\/em>, \u201cThe Pointer Sisters\u2019 nostalgia act was starting to get a little stale.\u201d They needed to point out the general public who they have been, \u201cour own spirit,\u201d as Ruth put it. And if you happen to\u2019re going to point out them, present them<\/em>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s simply what they did on their first single from the album \u2013 \u201cHow Long (Betcha\u2019 Got a Chick on the Side)\u201d \u2013 written by Anita, Bonnie, and David Rubinson. This isn\u2019t a tune that appears again. This is a novel model, combining all of the items of funk, R&B, and disco that make these genres nice. This is lush strings punctuating funky guitar. This is a beat that builds and builds, ready to blow up. It begs for dance flooring and home events. The signature harmonies that made them well-known are there all through, too. They present up once more within the whispered chorus, with Ruth\u2019s deep alto holding down Anita\u2019s lead. The result’s highly effective, assured. The tune would rating the Pointers their first (and solely) R&B primary.<\/p>\n They\u2019d made one thing particular, they usually knew it. \u201cThe album was a mother,\u201d Ruth writes. With songs written or co-written by Stevie Wonder<\/a><\/strong> (\u201cSleeping Alone\u201d), Isaac Hayes<\/strong><\/a> (\u201cEasy Days\u201d), one other Toussaint (\u201cGoing Down Slowly\u201d), and appearances by each Wonder and Herbie Hancock<\/a><\/strong>, Steppin\u2019<\/em> tapped into one thing new for the Pointers, one thing that each artist and viewers might really feel. With the album, \u201cWe planted our flag as true song stylists,\u201d Ruth writes. \u201cWe felt our days as a gimmick act were coming to a close.\u201d<\/p>\n