Important communication: Disregard the cute cover art if you must. The Pointer Sisters‘ Steppin’, showcased on the October 4, 1975 episode of Soul Train, is a must-own for anyone with a deep interest in mid ’70s soul and funk. Many crate diggers who pore over album credits have likely snapped up copies for the contributions of Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Wah Wah Watson, Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers, but its status as mostly pure dynamite comes down to the Pointers, who play with material written by themselves, Wonder, Allen Toussaint, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Willie McTell and Taj Mahal, and Duke Ellington like it’s all putty. A couple years back, Hip-O Select reissued the album on CD in LP replica form, retaining the die-cut high-heeled slingback tap sneakers. It was a low-key release and remains that way, though it deserves — at the least — the same amount of attention given to the Betty Davis reissues that came out this year.

On this Soul Train episode, the Pointers, referred to by Don Cornelius as “the most remarkable group of female entertainers in the business,” played three of their fourth album’s most with-it songs: the impossibly funky “How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)” (one of the most strutting, swaggering tracks about being spurned), the grinding/burning Toussaint number “Going Down Slowly,” and Wonder’s complex but magnetic “Sleeping Alone” — which, as far as songs Wonder wrote or co-wrote for others during the decade, is up there with Syreeta’s “Black Maybe,” Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good,” Minnie Riperton’s “Take a Little Trip,” Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It,” and maybe even the Spinners’ “It’s a Shame.” The other guest stars were Ralph Carter (yes, Good Times‘ proto-Huey Freeman Michael Evans), whose rather speedy Van McCoy-penned single was approaching the R&B Top 40, and B.T. Express, decked out in banana yellow space get-ups and powered by a double A-side single that reached number five.

And yes, that was future Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel having spelling issues on the scramble board, but he and his partner were able to convert “IACSEA” to “IASCEA” to “IASAC” to “ISAAC HAYES” within 60 seconds.

What was played and performed on this episode, with Billboard R&B chart info included:

War - Low Rider
Debuted September 13, 1975; peaked at number one; released on United Artists

B.T. Express - Peace Pipe
Debuted August 9, 1975; peaked at number five; released on Roadshow

Eddie Kendricks - Get the Cream Off the Top
Debuted July 19, 1975; peaked at number seven; released on Tamla

The Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly
Debuted November 22, 1975; peaked at number 16; released on Blue Thumb

Ralph Carter - When You’re Young and in Love
Debuted August 2, 1975; peaked at number 37; released on Mercury

The O’Jays - Survival
Debuted August 16, 1975; peaked at number 10; released on Philadelphia International

The Pointer Sisters - How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)
Debuted July 26, 1975; peaked at number one; released on Blue Thumb

Sly & the Family Stone - I Get High on You
Debuted August 23, 1975; peaked at number three; released on Epic

B.T. Express - Give It What You Got
Debuted August 9, 1975; peaked at number five; released on Roadshow

The Isley Brothers - Fight the Power
Debuted May 31, 1975; peaked at number one; released on T-Neck

The Pointer Sisters - Sleeping Alone
Did not chart; released on Blue Thumb

Previously:

May 11, 1974: Sylvia; the Moments; Ecstasy, Passion & Pain
June 8, 1974: Staple Singers, Bunny Sigler
June 15, 1974: Kool & the Gang, Al Wilson, Natural 4
November 2, 1974: The 5th Dimension, Al Wilson, Formula IV
January 11, 1975: Graham Central Station, Zulema, Leon Haywood