The Pointer Sisters – Automatic

“Automatic” Single by The Pointer Sisters from the album Break Out
B-side “Nightline”
Released January 13, 1984
Label Planet RCA
Songwriters Brock Walsh and Mark Goldenberg
Producer Richard Perry
Charted No.5 in US (HOT 100); No.2 in UK, No.1 in Ireland, No.5 in Belgium

“Automatic” was the group’s first Top 40 hit to feature Ruth Pointer’s distinctive contralto on lead.

According to Ruth Pointer, “Automatic” was the final song chosen for Break Out: “We were taking a break from recording in the office of Jim Tract, who was Richard Perry’s right-hand man, and Jim mentioned that he had a stash of tapes we might want to listen to [while on] a breather…We all sat up straight when we first heard [‘Automatic’] and told Richard we wanted to include it on the album. ‘Okay,’ he said ‘But who would sing the low part?’ ‘Are you kidding me?’ I said, ‘I’ll do the low part!’

This won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Two or More Voices.

The Pointer Sisters
Ruth Pointer – lead vocals
Anita Pointer – backing vocals
June Pointer – backing vocals

Musicians
Stephen Mitchell – synthesizers
Howie Rice – synthesizers
John Van Tongeren – synthesizers, Minimoog
Brock Walsh – synthesizers, drum machine programming
Paul Fox – E-mu Emulator
Dennis Herring – guitars
Mark Goldenberg – guitar (bridge)
Eddie Watkins Jr. – bass