"How Long (Betcha' Got a Chick on the Side)" is a song by American

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

, released as the first single from their ''

Steppin' ''Steppin is the third studio album by The Pointer Sisters, released in 1975 on the ABC/ Blue Thumb label. History ''Steppin, which was more R&B heavy than the sister quartet's previous albums, generated a number one R&B hit with its first si ...

'' album in 1975. Written by group members

Anita Pointer Anita Marie Pointer (January 23, 1948December 31, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. She co-wrote and was the lead singer on their hit song " Fairytale", which ga ...

and

Bonnie Pointer Patricia Eva "Bonnie" Pointer (July 11, 1950– June 8, 2020) was an American singer, best known for having been a member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. Pointer scored several moderate solo hits after leaving the Pointer Sisters in 1977 ...

with

David Rubinson David Rubinson (born August 7, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York)Internet Movie DatabaseMini-Biography of David Rubinson Retrieved 2012-06-05.as of 2017 it's 1962? is an American recording engineer and music producer, who was particularly involved in music ...

, the song's mixture of funky R&B and the sisters' soulful harmonies helped make it a standout in the Pointer Sisters' early catalog. The single was a significant success for the group, reaching number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and was the group's first and only number-one single on the US

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart, where it spent two weeks at number one.

Personnel

– lead vocals, backing vocals *

Ruth Pointer Ruth Esther Pointer (born March 19, 1946) is an American singer best known as the eldest and last surviving original member of the family vocal group the Pointer Sisters. Career Joining her sisters in 1972, the Pointer Sisters released their ...

– backing vocals *

June Pointer June Antoinette Pointer (November 30, 1953 – April 11, 2006) was an American singer, best known as the youngest of the founding members of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. Early life and career Born the youngest of six children to minister ...

– backing vocals *

– producer

Musicians

* Tom Salisbury – acoustic piano * Chris Michie – guitar *

Wah Wah Watson Melvin M. Ragin (December 8, 1950 – October 24, 2018), known professionally as Wah Wah Watson, was an American guitarist who was a member of the Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records. He also worked extensively as a session musician ...

– guitar * Eugene Santini – bass * Gaylord Birch – drums, percussion

References

1975 songs 1975 singles The Pointer Sisters songs Songs written by Anita Pointer Songs written by Bonnie Pointer Blue Thumb Records singles American funk songs Song recordings produced by David Rubinson {{1970s-single-stub