Artist:
THE POINTER SISTERS
Label:
YMC RECORDS
Video:
“CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK”
Director:
JS Maxwell
Add Date:
November 30, 2006

Hello to all of my music video programming pals! It’s Andy Gesner and the staff from HIP Video Promo with another terrific video completely worthy of your attention. It’s warm, beautiful and sunny in the Northeast, but the calendar doesn’t lie: the holiday season is once again upon us. That means snow, shopping lists, and Christmas music. This year, we’re lucky enough to have a new Christmas song to spin from the legendary Pointer Sisters, and it’s our great pleasure to usher in the holidays by sharing it with you.

“Christmas In New York” bears all the hallmarks of The Pointer Sisters sound: strong unison vocals and rich harmonies, irrepressible enthusiasm, and a big beat. Those elements have been constants for the R&B group since the mid-Seventies. No matter what stylistic experiments the Sisters have conducted – and they’ve proven themselves masters of countless different styles – their commitment to melody, energy, and joyous celebration has never flagged. Here’s a group that could perform “Steam Heat” from The Pajama Game and Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” with equivalent passion, conviction, and verve. By erasing the lines between jazz and soul, country and electro-pop, funk rock and Broadway show tunes through the pure force of their vocal command, The Pointer Sisters established themselves as one of the most courageous and exhilarating R&B acts in the storied history of the genre. Rather fittingly, the Sisters were the first female African-American singing group to perform at the Grand Old Opry – and in retrospect, it’s hard to imagine any other act filling their shoes.

Those of us who are too young to remember the group’s brilliant 1974 debut associate The Pointer Sisters with their remarkable run of early-Eighties chart-toppers: “Jump (For My Love)”, “The Neutron Dance”, “I’m So Excited”, “Slow Hand”, “Automatic”, and several others. These were not merely highlights of any given American Top Forty show – they were also songs of empowerment, wild celebrations, state-of-the-art new wave and R&B, and a much-needed infusion of jazz sophistication and girl-group class into the tired arm of contemporary commercial radio. “Christmas In New York” most closely resembles those early-Eighties hits: huge bass and drums, pulsing synthesizer, and voices raised in unison to sing the praises of the season. But it’s also a paean to New York City – the shopping season, the carriage rides and fancy stores, and the magic of Manhattan under the Christmas lights.

All of us here at HIP were saddend by the passing of founding member, June Pointer, earlier this year, but we are inspired that the group carries on. The Pointer Sisters are now an intergenerational act: Issa, Ruth Pointer’s daughter, has joined the group. What hasn’t changed is that all three Sisters look terrific – the years don’t seem to have laid a glove on Ruth or Anita. In the “Christmas In New York” video, the trio and their dancing fans are contained inside a child’s snow globe. As the flakes fall around their faces, images of the city they’re celebrating are projected on a green screen behind them. As always, the energy and enthusiasm of The Pointer Sisters is contagious – it seems to light up the stage, animate their listeners, and give a peculiar sparkle to the Christmas decorations.

The new holiday single is available on Smooth And Soulful: The Christmas Collection, a collection of timeless Christmas music by world famous artists. The Pointer Sisters are joined on the compilation by kindred spirits Donna Summer, Natalie Cole, and Al Jarreau. Here at HIP we are very excited to be teaming up with YMC Records to help spread some Christmas cheer! We have copies of Smooth And Soulful: The Christmas Collection for on-air giveaways, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch! If you need more info, call Andy Gesner at 732-613-1779 or e-mail us at info@HIPVideoPromo.com.

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