Ruth Pointer, of The Pointer Sisters, has a new book releasing in February, titled “Still So Excited,” and in it she’s giving very extensive, and sometimes painful, details about her life. One of the painful memories Ruth reveals is her long battle with drug addiction. She preferred cocaine the most and there was one main affect that she said she truly loved about that drug at the time. Here is what Ruth explained to EastValleyTribune.com:

Q: Your 1973 debut album, The Pointer Sisters went gold and featured a Top 10 single (Yes We Can Can). How did you adjust to instant fame?

Ruth Pointer: “Not so good. Everything was happening at rocket speed once we hit, and I began losing myself in drugs, alcohol, and parties pretty much from the start. People were everywhere, many terrible influences, and it was open season on the superstar. Nobody wants to admit how impressionable they are, especially when you’re an adult who thinks they are grown up with pretty good street sense. The Pointer Sisters were on the road so much, there was hardly any time to reflect and get centered. I was being shoved along, going with the flow, getting deeper and deeper into hard partying. Everybody was doing it. It was like you were the odd person out if you didn’t get blazed, drunk, or worse. I had been the strange one — the odd duck, the preacher’s daughter — for so many years, and I didn’t want to be the strange one anymore. So I did what everybody else did to fit in, sometimes at great personal sacrifice.”

Q: The music quality and output of the Pointer Sisters was amazing – 15 Top 40 singles and almost 20 studio albums in 20 years. That takes on a whole new meaning given that you were mostly under the influence in your peak years.

RP: “You have to understand the context of the times. Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s was definitely fueled by cocaine. It was everywhere. You’d go to a restaurant, club, or party and a bowl of snow would materialize and get passed around just like an appetizer. While stopping short of endorsing its use, Time magazine was among several news outlets reporting (incorrectly, it turned out) that cocaine was not addictive and so wasn’t as bad for you as alcohol. And WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT COKE HELPED KEEP MY WEIGHT DOWN, IT BECAME ONE OF MY MAIN FOOD GROUPS . I am lucky to be alive.”

So Ruth’s weight management was based around her addiction, wow…it’s good that she did what she had to do to make permanent changes. Ruth further explained how her addiction took her through hell and back:

Q: Drugs and alcohol eventually brought you to your knees, didn’t it?

RP: “It not only brought me to my knees but nearly brought me to my deathbed. My fondness for drugs and booze had taken an awful toll. It wore down my immune system and I had contracted viral meningitis and on July 4th weekend 1984, I was rushed to the hospital. When I woke up I had no idea where I was or how I’d gotten there. There was a doctor standing at my bedside and his first words were, “Whatever lifestyle you’re living right now needs to change, because otherwise you’re not going to be around for very long.” As I lay in that hospital bed I took a way overdue honest look at myself and saw a horrifying picture. I’d been a rebellious daughter, AWOL parent, so-so sister, alcoholic, drug addict, and overall pretty poor excuse for a human being. It was time to get my act together. I’ve now been clean and sober for more than three decades, and every day above ground is a good day. Life is a gift and a blessing.”

Ruth also revealed that she thinks her parents’ extremely religious teachings is what ultimately drove she and her sisters to drugs, due to their sheltered life as kids. Here’s how she described her parents’ affect on her:

“It wasn’t an entirely unhappy upbringing, but it sure was filled with pressure, disappointments and unrealistic expectations handed down to me from my mother and father — both of whom were ministers of fear and flawlessness. I’m not knocking the ministry. All I’m saying is that it’s hard to feel like a normal kid when the word “no” is the most constant word in your household. No lipstick. No fingernail polish. No makeup. No skirts above the knees. No jewelry. No records. No movies. No dancing. No dating. And that ain’t no fun.”

What Ruth said about her parents’ tight leash on she and her siblings is a valid point that often goes overlooked. The reason for that is probably because we’re so accustomed to criticizing parents for not doing enough to raise their children, that we forget about the parents who may be doing way too much, which can ultimately have the exact same affect as the parents who did too little. I always say if parenting came with one universal handbook, we’d all be better people and better parents, but unfortunately it doesn’t. It sounds like The Pointer Sisters’ parents did what they knew how to do and were trying to protect their kids, but it was probably just a little too much. Their children achieved high levels of greatness, but also some severe lows as a result. At the same rate, once we become adults who know better, we also have to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions that are a result of our childhood. We appreciate Ruth for being able to say what many people would have been afraid to say publicly.

The post Pointer Sister Surprisingly Confesses What She Loved Most About Doing Drugs Back Then appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all know that the late, great Richard Pryor was a wild dude back in the day and this story is just going to prove yet again, just how wild he really was. Years ago, Pointer Sister singer, Anita Pointer, and her then boyfriend/NFL player, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, decided to stop by their friend, Pryor’s house and boy did they get the shock of their lives! According to Thomas, Richard surprised him and Anita with a homemade porn movie of himself with two women. Here is what Thomas revealed about that day in his book, Out of Control: Confessions of an NFL Casualty:

“Anita and I took a limo to Richard Pryor’s house.

The butler was circulating with a platter of cocaine. Frankie Crocker was sitting beside me. Pryor went into the kitchen and came out with a plate of barbecue sauce and chicken. He took a chicken leg, dipped it deep in the sauce and stuck it in his hair. Then he smeared it all in his face, under his chin and near his ears.

A few minutes later, a movie screen came down in the living room. The lights dimmed. Up on the screen was Richard Pryor with an erection. An Oriental girl, a white girl and a black girl were catering to his every need. One girl would work him for a while and his eyes looked like they were going to explode. Another would take her best shot and he would give his. They were doing some real freaky stuff. It was wild, Richard was nuts!”

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Apparently, Anita Pointer wasn’t offended by Richard’s home porn fiasco and took it all in stride. After reading what Thomas said about that day, I must admit that I’m glad Richard didn’t have the Pointer Sisters’ song playing in teh background of his porn movie. Last thing Anita probably wanted to see/hear was them singing, “I want a man with a slow hand, I want a lover with an easy touch,” playing in Pryor’s home sex video, while three ladies were giving him ‘easy touches with their slow hands.’

Here are a few fun facts about Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson…

“Hollywood” Henderson won the lottery…TWICE. In 2000 he won the $28 million dollar lottery in Texas. Soon after winning those $28M’s, he won a $20K lottery. Thomas also reportedly confessed that he’d spent approximately $20K on lottery tickets prior to winning his two big ones.

After winning Super Bowl XII in 1977, battling cocaine and crack cocaine addiction, serving eight months in drug rehab, as well as 28 months in prison in the 80’s, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson once again made headlines, except that time it was positive news and he was $28 million richer…although he said he had to break bread with his ex-wife.

Thankfully, “Hollywood” has been clean ever since the day he got busted in November of 1983 and hit with gun, drugs, and assault charges. Today he gives back through his motivational speaking at prisons, at his anti-gun seminars, and various other venues.

The post Pryor Was Proudly Freaky, But What He Did A Pointer Sister & Her Ex-NFL Man Was Wild appeared first on I Love Old School Music.