The Mary Jane Girls
were an American R&B, soul, funk, disco, and pop group in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. The group consisted of four female members, Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie (lead vocalist), Candice "Candi" Ghant, Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich, and Ann "Cheri" Bailey. They are best known for the song "In My House." JoJo was the only member to sing background for Rick James. This was to be JoJo's solo project but, Rick sold it to Motown as a group. The "Mary Jane Girl Sound" was created by JoJo and session singers the Water Sisters (see last MJG compilation liner notes). The other members were very limited in their vocal abilities as the band sang for them on tour and tape was used for television performances.
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MARY JANE GIRLS TICKETS
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Beginning
The origin of the group's name is commonly believed to be an homage to James' affinity for
marijuana, which is sometimes called "Mary Jane." The four group members took on distinctive character looks with matching personalities:
- Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie,(lead vocalist) – Sexy and streetwise, very like James himself.
- Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich – leather queen/dominatrix.
- Ann "Cheri" Bailey – Valley girl/cheerleader.
- Candice "Candi" Ghant – Model/Vamp.
Bailey left the group shortly after their debut album was released in 1983 and was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine, who is the daughter of
disco singer
Pattie Brooks. Marine filled the role of the Valley Girl in the band after Bailey's departure.
Career
Their self-titled debut album was released in 1983 and yielded the group their first R&B hits: "Candyman," "All Night Long" (which was included in the video game
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), and "Boys". The group released their second album,
Only Four You,
in 1985. After limited success with the lead single, "Break It Up," the song "In My House" was chosen as the follow-up. This song became the group's biggest hit, first on the
Billboard
Hot Dance Club Play chart, where the song went to #1 for two weeks in April of 1985. It also peaked at #3 on the
R&B chart and, soon after, crossed over to the
Hot 100 chart, where it reached #7 and spent 12 weeks in the
Top 40. To date, this is the Mary Jane Girls' only Top 40 hit in the U.S. "Wild and Crazy Love" was the third single from this album, which also fared well on the R&B and dance charts. The group covered the
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons hit, "
Walk Like a Man," which was included on the soundtrack of the 1986 film
A Fine Mess.
The Girls' next single, "Shadow Lover," was released in the spring of 1986, but problems with Motown and with James himself resulted in little promotion for the single, although it was performed on
Soul Train.
In the 1990s
Ghant and Wuletich left the group in the '90s, and McDuffie carried on solo. McDuffie also recorded with Rick James on his
Urban Rhapsody
CD on the track "Never Say You Love Me Again," which was originally written for
Teena Marie.
After leaving the Mary Jane Girls, Ann Bailey sang lead for
Morris Day's studio group "The DayZs."
Yvette Marine went on to sue
Virgin Records in 1991, claiming that she had shared the lead vocals on the songs "Opposites Attract," "Knocked Out," and "I Need You" on
Paula Abdul's debut album
Forever Your Girl.
[1] In 1993, a jury eventually ruled against Marine.
[2]
In 1995, McDuffie, Ghant, and Wuletich, under the name "MJG," appeared on daytime talk show
Jenny Jones
as the show's first musical guests. Between 1996 and 1997, Ghant and Wuletich left the group once again.
Current
- Bailey formed her own music group, Miss Lady. She also works as a makeup artist and part-time midwife in California.
- McDuffie continues to perform as "JoJo" Original Lead Singer Mary Jane Girls. She is also a television/movie composer. JoJo has also released a solo project entitled "Slightly Dangerous," produced by Danny LeMelle.
- Ghant is still in the music business.
- Marine is a married mother of two, and is the host of In The Mix with Yvette,
a celebrity profile show.
- Wuletich is a successful celebrity chef who just published a cookbook and is developing a T.V. cooking show.
- The group appeared on VH1's Where Are They Now?
in 2003. Bailey, Wuletich, Ghant, and Marine appeared in a separate segment from McDuffie, who had just returned from Europe touring with Barry White. JoJo was recently featured
on VH1'S 100 HIT WONDERS discussing her new project "Slightly Dangerous" and showing a recent clip from a concert performance in 2009.
Cover versions
- All Night Long
was recorded by British reggae act, La Famille in 1983, released on the Sanity record label.
- All Night Long
was recorded by British street soul act, Jay Mondi and the Livin' Bass. Released in March 1990 on Ten Records, the track was a #63 UK hit.
- In My House
was recorded by German singer Sarah Connor on her debut album, Green Eyed Soul
. The song also appears on her A Night to Remember: Pop Meets Classic
DVD.
- In My House
was recorded by American punk/indie rock band Big Black; the recording appeared on a special five-inch vinyl single included with the group's concert video Pigpile
.
Sampling
The
Black Eyed Peas sampled "All Night Long" in their song "Audio Delite at Low Fidelity" from their album
Monkey Business.
Kylie Minogue sampled "Candy Man" in her song "Always Find the Time" from the 1990 album
Rhythm of Love.
Mary J. Blige sampled the group's "All Night Long" for her song "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" on her 1994 album
My Life.
Jay-Z sampled "All Night Long" on a song called "Only A Customer", which appeared on the 1998 soundtrack
The Streets Is Watching.
LL Cool J sampled the same song in 1990 for his song "Around the Way Girl."
Big Daddy Kane sampled the Mary Jane Girls on 1989's "Smooth Operator."
Redman has sampled "All Night Long" three times, on the following songs:
- "Tonight's da Night"
- "Can't Wait," in whose video they also appeared
- "How to Roll a Blunt"
Groove Theory sampled "All Night Long" for their song, "Tell Me."
[3]
In the late '90s, rapper
Mack 10 featured Wuletich, Ghant, and McDuffie on his single, "On Them Thangs," on Priority Records. The three also appeared in the video for the song.
Monifah sampled this song also for her hit in 1996 I Miss You (Come Back Home)
Discography
Singles
Year
| Single
| US R&B Singles
| US Singles
| US Dance Singles
| Album
|
1983
| "All Night Long"
| 11
| 101
| -
| Mary Jane Girls
|
"Boys"
| 29
| -
| -
|
"Candy Man"
| 23
| 101
| -
|
1985
| "Break It Up"
| 79
| -
| -
| Only Four You
|
"In My House"
| 3
| 7
| 1
|
"Wild and Crazy Love"
| 10
| 42
| 3
|
1986
| "Walk Like a Man" (original version by The Four Seasons)
| 41
| 41
| -
| A Fine Mess
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Albums
Year
| Album
|
1983
| Mary Jane Girls
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1985
| Only Four You
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1986
| A Fine Mess
(soundtrack)
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1994
| In My House: The Very Best of the Mary Jane Girls
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1999
| Best of Mary Jane Girls
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2001
| 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Mary Jane Girls
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References
- Singer Says Part of Voice on Hit Is Hers. New York Times, 1991-04-10. Accessed 2008-06-04.
- Paula Abdul did lead on 'Forever Your Girl': jury. Jet, 1993-08-30. Accessed 2008-06-04.
- The-Breaks.com