The Pointer Sisters, Yes We Can Can | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 123^rd edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Yes We Can Can” by The Pointer Sisters.  

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 123^rd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Yes We Can Can”, performed by 🎙 The Pointer Sisters.

It is amazing the work that can be put in with a vamp.  Never underestimate the power of repetition because it can be the catalyst for a great, great song. 🏆 Grammy winners 🎙 The Pointer Sisters have no shortage of hits – they mark one of the great girl groups of the 1970s and 80s.  They struck gold on their 1973 album, fittingly titled 💿 The Pointer Sisters, with an , 🎼 ✍ Allen Toussaint-penned funk record, 🎵 “Yes We Can.” Originally performed by 🎙 Lee Dorsey (1924 – 1986), it would be The Pointer Sisters who would make 🎵 “Yes We Can Can” into a pop hit. “Yes We Can Can” just missed the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, settling for a no. 11 peak (still awesome). As far as success on the R&B charts, “Yes We Can Can” also performed well, peaking at no. 12. Focusing on this cover (hard to believe 🤯), that fat bass line, emphasizing a C chord faithfully, riding a funky groove is EPIC (🎛 David Rubinson produces)!

It’s not just the simple music that’s lit 🔥 – potent AF.  It’s also the vocals by The Pointer Sisters, led by 🎙 Anita Pointer. The ladies ooze with musicianship, personality, and, what else, soul! That groove, which runs the course of six minutes, is plenty of fuel for the fire.  Anita’s lead – melody and riffs – are on autopilot. “Now’s the time for all good men / To get together with one another,” she sings, adding, “We got to iron out our problems / And iron out our quarrels / And try to live as brothers.” Preach, girl! Likewise, her sisters’ harmonized vocals are locked-in, adding to the sheer excellence of 🎵 “Yes We Can Can”.  Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus, which is catchy, infectious, and memorable to the nth degree!

“I know we can make it

I know darn well we can work it out

Oh yes we can, I know we can-can

Yes we can can, why can’t we?

If we wanna, yes we can-can.”

🎙 The Pointer Sisters • 💿 The Pointer Sisters • 🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 1973

The Pointer Sisters, Yes We Can Can: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 123 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; UMG Recordings, Inc.; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]