BEST ROCK HARMONIES: Family Ties

Truly great harmony singing is rare. It requires a special combination of voices coming together to become more than the sum of the combined singers. It doesn't require every member to have a great voice, but it does demand a special chemistry not every band can muster. Practice helps. So does having a great ear. Or you can just sing with your relatives.

It's uncanny, but kin are the best harmonizers. There will be other examples later in the week, but today we focus on a group of sisters from Oakland, California. June and Bonnie Pointer began performing together in the late 1960s, then remembered they had two more sisters poking around somewhere, and the foursome quickly secured a contract with Atlantic Records. The Pointer Sisters' chart success began with a cover of Allen Toussaint's "Yes We Can Can" in 1973 and continued for the next couple of decades.

You may remember them for their cheesy 80s hits "I'm So Excited" and "He's So Shy." But the Pointer Sisters of the early to mid 1970s adhered more closely to the jazz, country, and rhythm and blues they absorbed growing up. (Their mother was no fan of rock and roll, except Elvis Presley, because he sang nice gospel songs for his mama.) One of their biggest early hits was "Fairytale," a straight country ballad penned by sisters Anita and Bonnie. The King himself covered that one.

The sisters' mellifluous harmonies shone in any genre. Their singing was strong, soulful, and tight as the strands of DNA they shared. They were equally comfortable covering Willie Dixon and Bruce Springsteen. They will go down in history as the funkiest women to ever come out of Oakland. This includes Gertrude Stein.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Shaky Flat Blues" by the Pointer Sisters
AVAILABLE ON: That's a Plenty; iTunes