Jump to content

Mary Jane Girls: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
TagKnife (talk | contribs)
481 edits
Reverting edit(s) by NoSourGrapes (talk) to rev. 1229279737 by TheGreatestLuvofAll: NPOV issues (UV 0.1.5)
 
(847 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American R&B, soul and funk group}}
==The Mary Jane Girls==
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
The '''Mary Jane Girls''' were a popular [[United States|American]] [[R&B]], [[soul music|soul]] and [[funk]] [[girl group]] who were cultivated by the legendary [[Rick James]]. The name of the group was created in the vein of James' passion for the drug [[Marijuana]]. The group consisted of 4 females with distinctive looks and matching personalities. Lead singer Joane "Jojo" was the '''Street Chick''' who also went by the name ''Chic Rick'' (being dubbed the female version of Rick James), Kim "Maxi" Wuletich the '''Leather Wearing Dominatrix''', Candice "Candi" Ghant the '''Diva/Glamour Girl''' & the '''Valley Girl''' Ann "Cheri" Bailey.
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Mary Jane Girls
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| background = group_or_band
| origin = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]
* [[Soul music|soul]]
* [[funk]]
* [[post-disco]]
}}
| years_active = 1983–1987
| label = [[Motown|Gordy]]
| past_members = * Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie
* Cheryl Ann "Cheri" Bailey
* Candice "Candi" Ghant
* Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich
* Yvette "Corvette" Marine
}}


The '''Mary Jane Girls''' were an American [[girl group]] formed in 1983, best known for their songs "[[In My House]]", "[[All Night Long (Mary Jane Girls song)|All Night Long]]", "Candy Man", and their cover version of "[[Walk Like a Man (The Four Seasons song)|Walk Like a Man]]". They were protégées of musician [[Rick James]] and disbanded in 1987.
==The Albums/Singles - Beginning/End==
Formed in [[1979]] as ''James''' permanent backup singers, ''James'' soon got them to the recording studio on their own. With powerfull harmonies that couldn't be denied, ''James'' got them to work on their Self-Titled debut pronto.
Their first album released in [[1983]], unleashed the classic [[funk]] jam, "All Night Long" (which has been sampled heavily sampled in [[Hip-Hop]] music. The album saw two more released, the equally funky "Candy Man" & "Boys". During the early recording phases of their sophmore LP, ''Bailey'' announced she was departing from the group due to personal reasons, and was quickly replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine. And in [[1985]] they released their second album '''Only Four You'''.
The group scored their biggest hit yet with the unforgettable sex romp "In My House". It peaked at #7 on the "[[Billboard Hot 100]]" that fall and topped the '''Hot Dance Music/Club Play''' charts.


Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie was the lead singer, the others filling out the group's style and appearance. On the studio recordings, McDuffie was backed by [[Backing vocalist|session vocalists]] rather than the other Mary Jane Girls. The group released two albums in the 1980s, and recorded a third – which was shelved for decades but finally released in 2014 as part of a larger Rick James retrospective.
What most people don't know was that "In My House" was actually the ''second'' single to be released from '''Only For You'''. The label insisted on the first single to be the fiesty "Break It Up", but considering the song didn't make it into the Top 75 on the '''R&B''' charts, ''James'' and the girls decided not to promote the single any longer. The group saw 2 more minor hits.
The next single "Wild And Crazy Love" just missed the Top 40 that winter, but managed to hold the #10 spot on the '''R&B''' charts. The cover of [[Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons]] hit "Walk Like A Man". Which was featured on the soundtrack for [[1986]]'s blockbuster hit "[[A Fine Mess]]". The album saw another release in the spring of '86, but due to problems with the label and ''James'' himself, "Shadow Lover" recieved little to no promotion.


The group was inducted into the [[Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame|Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame]] in 2019.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbhalloffame.com/index.php/hall-of-fame/inductees|title=Inductees|website=National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020080929/https://www.rbhalloffame.com/index.php/hall-of-fame/inductees|archive-date=2019-10-20}}</ref>
A third album was supposed to be released in [[1986]] but because of ''James''' troubles with drugs, [[Motown]] and his dissolvement of his [[Stone City Band]], he was asked to step down from his position with the label. This resulted in their third lp being shelved.
Candi appeared live on an urban radio station the same year teling listeners that she hoped the group can make a comeback and record with famed producers "[[Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis]]", but nothing happened. By the time [[1987]] had ended, the group had sadly disbanded.


==Background==
==The Early Reunion==
[[Rick James]] was frequently backed in his studio recordings by vocalists Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie and the sisters Maxine and Julia Waters. For live performances, starting in 1979, James was backed by McDuffie along with Cheryl Bailey (who used the stage name Cheri Wells), Candice "Candi" Ghant, and Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich. Casually among the musicians, McDuffie, Wells, Ghant, and Wuletich used the moniker Mary Jane Girls, a subgroup of James's backing band, the Stone City Band. The women learned choreographed dance routines and practiced under a vocal coach.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sager |first=Mike|title=Scary Monsters and Super Freaks: Stories of Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll and Murder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QBuyvqIq9sC&pg=PA175|page=175|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2003|isbn=9781560255635}}</ref>
The girls returned to doing backup vocals for various artists in the late-80's, ''Marine'' had the pleasure of notably singing back up on [[Teena Marie]]'s #1 single "Ooh La La" in [[1988]]
Rumors spreaded throughout the late 80's that while on the label, ''James'' treated the ladies with nothing but disrespect, and a 3rd album under his supervision would have been next to impossible. The Girls also blamed ''James'' for being the reason why they had constant tabloid fueds, and run-ins with [[Prince]]'s rival girl group [[Vanity 6]].


==Career==
==The Girls In The 90's==
In 1983, James proposed to [[Motown]] that McDuffie be offered a solo career but miscommunication caused the label to sign an [[All-female band|all-female group]], which he determined would be the Mary Jane Girls.<ref>{{cite web|author=Blakcitrus|date=November 4, 2012|url=http://www.kickmag.net/2012/11/04/throwback-the-mary-jane-girls-boys/|title=The Mary Jane Girls-Boys|website=Kickmag.net}}</ref> James filled the positions behind McDuffie with Wells, Ghant, and Wuletich. He also wrote all the original songs and produced all the recordings. Often compared to the protégées of his rival [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[Vanity 6]], who debuted in 1982, James told [[Jet (magazine)|''Jet'']] that he had come up with the concept six years prior but shelved it for a lack of time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Collier|first=Aldore|date=Sep 26, 1983|title=Rick James Talks About Life with Fast Women and Hot Cars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbMDAAAAMBAJ&dq=vanity+6+jet+1982&pg=PA61|journal=Jet|pages=61}}</ref> "I wanted there to be a Black female group in the industry that could express more reality with relationships to men. I wanted there to be Black girls who could really speak about love, the pain, money, power, hate and everything. Originally there were going to be three girls in negligees doing the punk thing."<ref name=":1"/>
In the 90's ''Jojo McDuffie'' became a live [[Jazz]] musician, but never recorded a jazz LP. ''Ann Bailey'' Briefly sang lead in Morris Day's studio group "The Dayzes". ''Yvette Marine'' sued choreographer-turned-singer Ms[[Paula Abdul]] (for an undisclosed amount), claiming that it was her singing the lead vocals on a majority of ''Abdul's'' debut album "[[Forever Your Girl]]". The jury disagreed and she lost the case in 1993.


The Waters sisters and McDuffie sang all the parts on the group's debut album, ''[[Mary Jane Girls (album)|Mary Jane Girls]]'', released in April 1983. The album yielded their first [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] hits: "Candy Man", "[[All Night Long (Mary Jane Girls song)|All Night Long]]" (which was later included in the soundtrack of the 2002 video game ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]''), and "Boys". In live performances, the Mary Jane Girls were backed by the Stone City Band. The male band members also sang the background vocals to support McDuffie as lead vocalist. Cheri Wells left the group before the next album project was recorded. She was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine.<ref name=TIOM>{{cite web|author=Tommyj|date=February 21, 2014|url=http://imagecompaniesenterprises.com/flashback-fridays-rick-james-2/|title=Flashback Fridays with Rick James|work=The Image of Magazine}}</ref> Marine was the daughter of singer [[Pattie Brooks]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_kbDQAAQBAJ&dq=pattie+brooks+yvette+marine&pg=PT221 | title=Super Freak: The Life of Rick James | isbn=978-1-61374-960-9 | last1=Benjaminson | first1=Peter | date=March 2017 | publisher=Chicago Review Press }}</ref>
In [[1997]], some members of the group reunited with ''James'' as he brought back the [[Stone City Band]] to record his album, ''Urban Rapsody'' and go out on tour.


The name of the group referenced ''mary jane'', slang for [[marijuana]]; a favored recreational drug of James. (James wrote a hit song titled "[[Mary Jane (Rick James song)|Mary Jane]]".) The group's image was styled as containing a street-wise girl (McDuffie), a supermodel (Ghant), a cheerleader/[[valley girl]] (Wells, then Marine), and a [[dominatrix]] (Wuletich).{{cn|date=February 2022}}
Mowtown released in on "In My House: The Very Best of the Mary Jane Girls". The 14-track set never recieved U.S. certification, but was heavily praised by fans of the girl group, because it featured their biggest hits (''All Night Long'', ''In My House''), minor hits (''Walk Like A Man''), and warming album cuts from both of their albums. Seven years later 20th Century Masters released "The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Mary Jane Girls" (Using the same cover as their debut) with an ensomble of singles far more superior to their success.


The group released their second album, ''[[Only Four You]]'', in February 1985. McDuffie was featured on most of the songs, and the Waters sisters were hired to provide background vocals, since the other members were vocally limited.<ref name=TIOM/> The lead single "[[In My House]]" became the group's biggest hit, reaching number 3 on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B]] chart and then crossing over to the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, where it reached number 7 and spent 12 weeks in the [[Top 40]]. It also charted on the [[Hot Dance Club Play]] chart, peaking at number 1 for two weeks in April 1985. "Wild and Crazy Love" was the second single from this album and it also fared well on the R&B (number 10) and dance charts (number 3). It barely missed the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 42. The last single, "Break It Up", only reached number 79 on the R&B chart and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did hit number 39 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.
==The Millennium Reunion==
In [[2002]] ''Jojo'', ''Candi'' & ''Maxi'' appeared on daytime talk show [[Jenny Jones]]. They announced that they still toured with ''James'' & the [[Stone City Band]], they were involved (as strictly singers) in various [[Burlesque]] shows, and now went by the acronym "'''MJG'''"
The group appeared on "[[VH1]]"'s '''Where Are They Now ''' show in [[2003]], but without ''Jojo'' or an explanation. However they did let viewers know that they wanted to make a comeback, but are waiting for the perfect opportunity.


A third album was recorded by the group, the project called ''Conversation'', but it was shelved for decades, finally released in 2014 as part of a larger retrospective of James's work.<ref>[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140708005411/en/Rick-James-Catalog-Re-Released-Digital-Form-July Rick James' Catalog Re-Released in Digital Form on July 8, to Coincide with New Autobiography, 'Glow']. UME, Rhino. July 8, 2014.</ref> However, a single was released from the project in 1986, a cover of [[The Four Seasons (band)|The Four Seasons]] hit "[[Walk Like a Man (The Four Seasons song)|Walk Like a Man]]", which was heard in the film ''[[A Fine Mess (film)|A Fine Mess]]''. It charted at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Shadow Lover", was also released in 1986, and the Mary Jane Girls appeared on ''[[Soul Train]]'' to [[lip sync]] it, but the single was not promoted by the label.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RG_LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT372|page=372|title=Motown Encyclopedia|last=Betts|first=Graham|publisher=AC Publishing |year=2014|isbn=9781311441546}}</ref> Ghant obtained other work in 1986 when James and Motown were in dispute, since the Mary Jane Girls had no label support. The Mary Jane Girls officially disbanded in 1987.{{cn|date=February 2022}}
The group reformed again in 2002, but ''Jojo'' decided not to return. She was replaced by 80's singer [[Val Young]]. ''Young'' (also known as ''Lady V'') had originally recorded "In My House", but the song didn't make the final cut of her [[1985]] album "'''Seduction'''". So in a way the ladies were already bringing a Mary Jane Girl into thr group, but yet another setback occured when ''James'' died in his sleep in [[2004]]. Talks of a reunion were once again cut short.


==NOW==
==Legacy==
Cheri Wells was recruited away from the Mary Jane Girls by [[Morris Day]] to be the lead singer for his all-female band the Day Zs, which released one album and one single on Reprise in 1990. These releases did not chart.
''Jojo'' Currently songwrites and works behind the scenes
''Maxi'' Is a "'''Soulfood"''' cook who caters to celebrities, and has '''1''' son
''Candi'' Owns a production company where she manages and produces her own artists
''Cheri'' Formed her own music group "Miss Lady" and is a part time Mid-Wife
''Lady V'' Still recording and gearing to release her album "The Voice Beyond" sometime in 2007
''Corvette'' A married mother of '''2''', and has her own U.S. television show "'''In The Mix with Yvette'''" Profiling the lives of todays hottest celebrities


In 1991, Marine sued [[Virgin Records]], claiming that she had shared lead vocals on the songs "[[Opposites Attract]]", "[[Knocked Out]]", and "I Need You", on [[Paula Abdul]]'s debut album ''[[Forever Your Girl]].''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3D81531F933A25757C0A967958260|title=Singer Says Part of Voice on Hit Is Hers|work=[[New York Times]]|date=1991-04-10|accessdate=2008-06-04}}</ref> In 1993, a jury ruled against Marine.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61|title=Paula Abdul did lead on 'Forever Your Girl': jury|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=1993-08-30|accessdate=2013-10-09}}</ref>
==MJG's History==
The Girls have had their songs sampled by hip-hop and modern R&B acts, most famously by singer [[Mary J. Blige]], who sampled the group's "All Night Long" for her song, "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" starting off her [[1994]] album, '''My Life'''. [[Rapper]] [[LL Cool J]] had sampled the same song four years prior for his hit, "Around the Way Girl". And an early sample was used by [[Hip-Hop]] heavyweight [[Big Daddy Kane]] for his [[1989]] smash "Smooth Operator".


In 1995, the song "All Night Long" was remixed by Mike Gray and Jon Pearn, subtitled "The Hustlers Convention Remixes" and released on 12" vinyl and CD single. These remixes gained attention in dance clubs and rose to number 51 in the UK.<ref name="uk"/> Also in 1995, McDuffie, Ghant, and Wuletich performed on television on ''[[The Jenny Jones Show]]'', billing themselves as MJG. They continued performing occasionally for a year or two.


McDuffie recorded with James on his 1997 ''[[Urban Rapsody]]'' album, on the [[torch song]] "Never Say You Love Me".
==See also==
*[[List of number-one dance hits (United States)]]
*[[List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart]]


In 2001, [[Mary J. Blige]] reported that she had purchased the rights to the name "Mary Jane Girls" for the purpose of putting together a girl group composed of one Asian American, one African American, one Latina, and one white singer. Blige said she wanted the name because her own name was Mary Jane Blige.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/77566/backstage-at-the-my-vh1-awards-matthews-jewel-creed-blige-sting|title=Backstage At The My VH1 Awards: Matthews, Jewel, Creed, Blige, Sting|date=December 3, 2001|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> Blige did not pursue the project.
[[Category:American rhythm and blues musical groups]]
[[Category:1980s music groups]]
[[Category:Funk musical groups]]
[[Category:Soul musical groups]]
[[Category:Girl groups]]
[[Category:Motown artists]]
[[Category:American dance musicians]]


In 2003, the Mary Jane Girls were featured on [[VH1]] in a "[[Where Are They Now? (American TV series)|Where Are They Now?]]" episode. Ghant, Wells, Wuletich, and Marine were interviewed together. McDuffie, coming off a concert tour backing [[Barry White]] in Europe, appeared in a separate interview.
[[ja:メリー・ジェーン・ガールズ]]

In 2009, McDuffie's husband Robert Funderburg applied for control of the trademark "Mary Jane Girls", but the application was abandoned in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trademarkia.com/mary-jane-girls-77686882.html|title=Apply for a Trademark. Search a Trademark|website=trademarkia.com}}</ref> Later in 2010, Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich applied for the trademark "MJG Starring Maxi and Cheri of the Original Mary Jane Girls", which she uses for performing with Cheri Wells.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trademarkia.com/mjg-starring-maxi-and-cheri-of-the-original-mary-jane-girls-85068904.html|title=Apply for a Trademark. Search a Trademark|website=trademarkia.com}}</ref> However, in 2013 the estate of Rick James sued Wuletich and Wells to stop them from performing under the name Mary Jane Girls. The estate held that the group's name was owned by James, not the singers.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jonathan|last=Hailey|date=November 20, 2013|url=http://theurbandaily.com/2013/11/20/mary-jane-girls-sued-rick-james/|title=80s Girl Group Mary Jane Girls Sued By Rick James' Estate|work=The Urban Daily}}</ref> In 2014, the Mary Jane Girls (Candice Ghant, [[Val Young]], and Farah Melanson) received an honorary [[HAL Awards|HAL Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umusicpub.com/us/News/2016/05/Motown-Legend-Salute-Ethiopia-Habtemariam-at-HAL-Awards.aspx|title=Motown Legend Salute Ethiopia Habtemariam at HAL Awards|publisher=Universal Music Publishing Group|accessdate=June 30, 2017}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| [[Music recording sales certification|Certifications]]
! rowspan="2"| Record label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| [[Billboard 200|US]]<br><ref name="allmusic">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/mary-jane-girls/chart-history/tlp/|title=Mary Jane Girls Chart History: ''Billboard'' 200|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=2020-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225005034/https://www.billboard.com/artist/mary-jane-girls/chart-history/tlp/|archive-date=February 25, 2022}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|US<br>R&B]]<br><ref name="allmusic"/>
! width="35"| [[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]<br><ref name="can">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=uiur2rf8ho7gg991ndujt08sr6&q1=Mary+Jane+Girls&q2=&interval=20|title=CAN Charts > Mary Jane Girls|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|access-date=2012-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824222819/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=uiur2rf8ho7gg991ndujt08sr6&q1=Mary+Jane+Girls&q2=&interval=20|archive-date=2017-08-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[Official New Zealand Music Chart|NZ]]<br><ref name="nz">{{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mary+Jane+Girls|title=NZ Charts > Rose Royce|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of New Zealand]]|access-date=2012-09-28}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[UK Albums Chart|UK]]<br><ref name="uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/20474/mary-jane-girls/|title=UK Charts > Mary Jane Girls|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=2020-08-28}}</ref>
|-
| 1983
| align="left"| ''[[Mary Jane Girls (album)|Mary Jane Girls]]''
| 56
| 6
| —
| —
| 51
|
| rowspan="2"| [[Motown|Gordy]]
|-
| 1985
| align="left"| ''[[Only Four You]]''
| 18
| 5
| 67
| 28
| —
|
* RIAA: Gold<ref name="riaa">{{Cite certification|region=United States|artist=Mary Jane Girls|accessdate=August 13, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}

===Compilation albums===
*''In My House: The Very Best of the Mary Jane Girls'' (1994, [[Motown]])
*''20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Mary Jane Girls'' (2001, Motown)

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="10"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br><ref name="allmusic"/>
! width="35"| [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|US<br>R&B]]<br><ref name="allmusic"/>
! width="35"| [[Hot Dance Club Songs|US<br>Dan]]<br><ref name="allmusic"/>
! width="35"| [[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br><ref name="kent">{{cite book|title=Australian Charts Book 1970—1992|author=David Kent|isbn=0-646-11917-6|year=1993|publisher=Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W.}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[VRT Top 30|BEL]]<br><ref name="bel">{{cite web|url=http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/artist-info/2096|title=BEL Charts > Mary Jane Girls |publisher=[[VRT Top 30]]|access-date=2012-09-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409063716/http://top30-2.radio2.be/ |archive-date=2012-04-09}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]<br><ref name="can"/>
! width="35"| [[Irish Singles Chart|IRE]]<br><ref name="ire">{{cite web|url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement|title=IRE Charts Search > Mary Jane Girls|publisher=[[Irish Recorded Music Association]]|access-date=2012-09-28}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[Dutch Single Top 100|NLD]]<br><ref name="nld">{{cite web|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Mary+Jane+Girls|title=NLD Charts > Mary Jane Girls|publisher=[[MegaCharts]]|access-date=2012-09-28}}</ref>
! width="35"| [[Official New Zealand Music Chart|NZ]]<br><ref name="nz"/>
! width="35"| [[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br><ref name="uk"/>
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1983
| align="left"| "Candy Man"
| 101
| 23
| rowspan="3"| 8
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 60
| align="left" rowspan="4"| ''Mary Jane Girls''
|-
| align="left"| "[[All Night Long (Mary Jane Girls song)|All Night Long]]"
| 101
| 11
| —
| —
| —
| 18
| —
| —
| 13
|-
| align="left"| "Boys"
| 102
| 29
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 74
|-
| 1984
| align="left"| "Jealousy"
| 106
| 84
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1985
| align="left"| "[[In My House]]"
| 7
| 3
| 1
| 19
| 8
| 6
| —
| 6
| 6
| 77
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''Only Four You''
|-
| align="left"| "Wild and Crazy Love"
| 42
| 10
| 3
| —
| 26
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 101
|-
| align="left"| "Break It Up"
| —
| 79
| 33
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1986
| align="left"| "[[Walk Like a Man (The Four Seasons song)|Walk Like a Man]]"
| 41
| 91
| —
| —
| 26
| 97
| —
| —
| 48
| —
| align="left"| ''[[A Fine Mess (film)#Soundtrack|A Fine Mess]]''
|-
| 1995
| align="left"| "All Night Long" <small>(The Hustlers Convention Remixes)</small>
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 51
| align="left"| Non-album single
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090810130049/http://jojourbandiva.com/ Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie] official website of JoJo
* {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4853}}
* {{discogs artist|Mary Jane Girls}}
* {{imdb name|3048741}}

{{Mary Jane Girls}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary Jane Girls}}
[[Category:1983 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1987 disestablishments in California]]
[[Category:American contemporary R&B musical groups]]
[[Category:American disco girl groups]]
[[Category:American funk musical groups]]
[[Category:American pop girl groups]]
[[Category:American post-disco music groups]]
[[Category:American soul musical groups]]
[[Category:Dance-pop groups]]
[[Category:Motown artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1987]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1983]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Musical hoaxes]]
[[Category:Vocal quartets]]

Latest revision as of 23:15, 21 June 2024

Mary Jane Girls
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active1983–1987
LabelsGordy
Past members
  • Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie
  • Cheryl Ann "Cheri" Bailey
  • Candice "Candi" Ghant
  • Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich
  • Yvette "Corvette" Marine

The Mary Jane Girls were an American girl group formed in 1983, best known for their songs "In My House", "All Night Long", "Candy Man", and their cover version of "Walk Like a Man". They were protégées of musician Rick James and disbanded in 1987.

Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie was the lead singer, the others filling out the group's style and appearance. On the studio recordings, McDuffie was backed by session vocalists rather than the other Mary Jane Girls. The group released two albums in the 1980s, and recorded a third – which was shelved for decades but finally released in 2014 as part of a larger Rick James retrospective.

The group was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2019.[1]

Background

[edit]

Rick James was frequently backed in his studio recordings by vocalists Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie and the sisters Maxine and Julia Waters. For live performances, starting in 1979, James was backed by McDuffie along with Cheryl Bailey (who used the stage name Cheri Wells), Candice "Candi" Ghant, and Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich. Casually among the musicians, McDuffie, Wells, Ghant, and Wuletich used the moniker Mary Jane Girls, a subgroup of James's backing band, the Stone City Band. The women learned choreographed dance routines and practiced under a vocal coach.[2]

Career

[edit]

In 1983, James proposed to Motown that McDuffie be offered a solo career but miscommunication caused the label to sign an all-female group, which he determined would be the Mary Jane Girls.[3] James filled the positions behind McDuffie with Wells, Ghant, and Wuletich. He also wrote all the original songs and produced all the recordings. Often compared to the protégées of his rival Prince, Vanity 6, who debuted in 1982, James told Jet that he had come up with the concept six years prior but shelved it for a lack of time.[4] "I wanted there to be a Black female group in the industry that could express more reality with relationships to men. I wanted there to be Black girls who could really speak about love, the pain, money, power, hate and everything. Originally there were going to be three girls in negligees doing the punk thing."[4]

The Waters sisters and McDuffie sang all the parts on the group's debut album, Mary Jane Girls, released in April 1983. The album yielded their first R&B hits: "Candy Man", "All Night Long" (which was later included in the soundtrack of the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), and "Boys". In live performances, the Mary Jane Girls were backed by the Stone City Band. The male band members also sang the background vocals to support McDuffie as lead vocalist. Cheri Wells left the group before the next album project was recorded. She was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine.[5] Marine was the daughter of singer Pattie Brooks.[6]

The name of the group referenced mary jane, slang for marijuana; a favored recreational drug of James. (James wrote a hit song titled "Mary Jane".) The group's image was styled as containing a street-wise girl (McDuffie), a supermodel (Ghant), a cheerleader/valley girl (Wells, then Marine), and a dominatrix (Wuletich).[citation needed]

The group released their second album, Only Four You, in February 1985. McDuffie was featured on most of the songs, and the Waters sisters were hired to provide background vocals, since the other members were vocally limited.[5] The lead single "In My House" became the group's biggest hit, reaching number 3 on the R&B chart and then crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached number 7 and spent 12 weeks in the Top 40. It also charted on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at number 1 for two weeks in April 1985. "Wild and Crazy Love" was the second single from this album and it also fared well on the R&B (number 10) and dance charts (number 3). It barely missed the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 42. The last single, "Break It Up", only reached number 79 on the R&B chart and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did hit number 39 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.

A third album was recorded by the group, the project called Conversation, but it was shelved for decades, finally released in 2014 as part of a larger retrospective of James's work.[7] However, a single was released from the project in 1986, a cover of The Four Seasons hit "Walk Like a Man", which was heard in the film A Fine Mess. It charted at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Shadow Lover", was also released in 1986, and the Mary Jane Girls appeared on Soul Train to lip sync it, but the single was not promoted by the label.[8] Ghant obtained other work in 1986 when James and Motown were in dispute, since the Mary Jane Girls had no label support. The Mary Jane Girls officially disbanded in 1987.[citation needed]

Legacy

[edit]

Cheri Wells was recruited away from the Mary Jane Girls by Morris Day to be the lead singer for his all-female band the Day Zs, which released one album and one single on Reprise in 1990. These releases did not chart.

In 1991, Marine sued Virgin Records, claiming that she had shared lead vocals on the songs "Opposites Attract", "Knocked Out", and "I Need You", on Paula Abdul's debut album Forever Your Girl.[9] In 1993, a jury ruled against Marine.[10]

In 1995, the song "All Night Long" was remixed by Mike Gray and Jon Pearn, subtitled "The Hustlers Convention Remixes" and released on 12" vinyl and CD single. These remixes gained attention in dance clubs and rose to number 51 in the UK.[11] Also in 1995, McDuffie, Ghant, and Wuletich performed on television on The Jenny Jones Show, billing themselves as MJG. They continued performing occasionally for a year or two.

McDuffie recorded with James on his 1997 Urban Rapsody album, on the torch song "Never Say You Love Me".

In 2001, Mary J. Blige reported that she had purchased the rights to the name "Mary Jane Girls" for the purpose of putting together a girl group composed of one Asian American, one African American, one Latina, and one white singer. Blige said she wanted the name because her own name was Mary Jane Blige.[12] Blige did not pursue the project.

In 2003, the Mary Jane Girls were featured on VH1 in a "Where Are They Now?" episode. Ghant, Wells, Wuletich, and Marine were interviewed together. McDuffie, coming off a concert tour backing Barry White in Europe, appeared in a separate interview.

In 2009, McDuffie's husband Robert Funderburg applied for control of the trademark "Mary Jane Girls", but the application was abandoned in 2010.[13] Later in 2010, Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich applied for the trademark "MJG Starring Maxi and Cheri of the Original Mary Jane Girls", which she uses for performing with Cheri Wells.[14] However, in 2013 the estate of Rick James sued Wuletich and Wells to stop them from performing under the name Mary Jane Girls. The estate held that the group's name was owned by James, not the singers.[15] In 2014, the Mary Jane Girls (Candice Ghant, Val Young, and Farah Melanson) received an honorary HAL Award.[16]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Record label
US
[17] 		US
R&B
[17] 		CAN
[18] 		NZ
[19] 		UK
[11]
1983 Mary Jane Girls 56 6 — — 51 Gordy
1985 Only Four You 18 5 67 28 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

[edit]
  • In My House: The Very Best of the Mary Jane Girls (1994, Motown)
  • 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Mary Jane Girls (2001, Motown)

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Peak chart positions Album
US
[17] 		US
R&B
[17] 		US
Dan
[17] 		AUS
[21] 		BEL
[22] 		CAN
[18] 		IRE
[23] 		NLD
[24] 		NZ
[19] 		UK
[11]
1983 "Candy Man" 101 23 8 — — — — — — 60 Mary Jane Girls
"All Night Long" 101 11 — — — 18 — — 13
"Boys" 102 29 — — — — — — 74
1984 "Jealousy" 106 84 — — — — — — — —
1985 "In My House" 7 3 1 19 8 6 — 6 6 77 Only Four You
"Wild and Crazy Love" 42 10 3 — 26 — — — — 101
"Break It Up" — 79 33 — — — — — — —
1986 "Walk Like a Man" 41 91 — — 26 97 — — 48 — A Fine Mess
1995 "All Night Long" (The Hustlers Convention Remixes) — — — — — — — — — 51 Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Inductees". National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Sager, Mike (2003). Scary Monsters and Super Freaks: Stories of Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll and Murder. Da Capo Press. p. 175. ISBN 9781560255635.
  3. ^ Blakcitrus (November 4, 2012). "The Mary Jane Girls-Boys". Kickmag.net.
  4. ^ a b Collier, Aldore (September 26, 1983). "Rick James Talks About Life with Fast Women and Hot Cars". Jet: 61.
  5. ^ a b Tommyj (February 21, 2014). "Flashback Fridays with Rick James". The Image of Magazine.
  6. ^ Benjaminson, Peter (March 2017). Super Freak: The Life of Rick James. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-960-9.
  7. ^ Rick James' Catalog Re-Released in Digital Form on July 8, to Coincide with New Autobiography, 'Glow'. UME, Rhino. July 8, 2014.
  8. ^ Betts, Graham (2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. p. 372. ISBN 9781311441546.
  9. ^ "Singer Says Part of Voice on Hit Is Hers". New York Times. April 10, 1991. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  10. ^ "Paula Abdul did lead on 'Forever Your Girl': jury". Jet. August 30, 1993. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c "UK Charts > Mary Jane Girls". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "Backstage At The My VH1 Awards: Matthews, Jewel, Creed, Blige, Sting". Billboard. December 3, 2001.
  13. ^ "Apply for a Trademark. Search a Trademark". trademarkia.com.
  14. ^ "Apply for a Trademark. Search a Trademark". trademarkia.com.
  15. ^ Hailey, Jonathan (November 20, 2013). "80s Girl Group Mary Jane Girls Sued By Rick James' Estate". The Urban Daily.
  16. ^ "Motown Legend Salute Ethiopia Habtemariam at HAL Awards". Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Mary Jane Girls Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "CAN Charts > Mary Jane Girls". RPM. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  19. ^ a b "NZ Charts > Rose Royce". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  20. ^ "American certifications – Mary Jane Girls". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  21. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. ^ "BEL Charts > Mary Jane Girls". VRT Top 30. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  23. ^ "IRE Charts Search > Mary Jane Girls". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  24. ^ "NLD Charts > Mary Jane Girls". MegaCharts. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Mary_Jane_Girls&oldid=1230304232"