The Mary Jane Girls were a popular American R&B, Soul, Funk and Pop group from the 1980s. The group consisted of four female members: Joanne
"Jojo" McDuffie, Candice "Candi" Ghant, Kim "Maxi" Wuletich, and Ann "Cheri" Bailey. They were protégées of the legendary
80s singer Rick James. McDuffie,
a backup singer for James, was the first member of the group. They are best known for the pop
smash "In My House" and the R&B funk classic "All Night Long".
The 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 - Street Tuff/self-described "female Rick James"
- Kim "Maxi" Wuletich - Leather Queen/Dominatrix
- Ann "Cheri" Bailey - Valley Girl/Cheerleader
- Candice "Candi" Ghant - Sexy Model/Vamp
Bailey left the group after their debut album and Yvette "Corvette" Marine was brought in to fill in for the part of the
Valley Girl.
The Mary Jane Girls debut album was actually intended to be McDuffie's solo debut; she sang lead with background vocals
provided by the Waters Sisters. Motown heard the demo and mistook it for the demo of a female group that James had promised to
them, so James was forced to hurriedly cobble the group together. The Waters Sisters were retained to sing background vocals for
all Mary Jane Girls outings.
Career
The single "In My House," was a worldwide hit, reaching number #1 on the BillBoard Pop and R&B Charts, and easily eclipsed
the group's first hits, "Candyman," "All Night Long" (which was included in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), and "Boys". The song, originally recorded by Rick James and
Eddie Murphy, was featured on the Girls' second LP, Only Four You. 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. The group's third album, titled Conversation With
The Mary Jane Girls, was supposed to be released in 1986, but James' personal issues and the dissolution of his
Stone City Band led to his release from Motown and the consequent shelving of the album.
In the 90's
Ghant and Wuletich left the group in the 90's, 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 Paula Abdul in 1993, claiming that she had sung the lead
vocals on a majority of Abdul's debut album Forever Your Girl. The jury
eventually ruled against Marine.
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.
Where Are They Now?
- 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 a solo act, and is also is a television and film composer. Her solo project, titled
Slightly Dangerous and produced by Danny LeMelle, will be released in 2007.
- Ghant founded the production company N2Deep and is a manager and producer there.
- Marine is a married mother of two, and is the host of In The Mix with Yvette, a celebrity profile show.
- Wuletich has a son named Christian.
- 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.
Sampling
Mary J. Blige sampled the group's "All Night Long" for her song "Mary Jane (All Night
Long)" on her 1994 album My Life. She used the same sample on her 1997 song "Love Is All We
Need" featuring Nas.
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 and McDuffie's voice in 1994
for his song "Around the Way Girl".
Big Daddy Kane sampled the Mary Jane Girls on 1989's
"Smooth Operator".
Redman has sampled the group twice, on the following songs:
In the late 90's, rapper Mack 10 featured Wuletich, Ghant, and McDuffie on his debut single,
"On Them Thangs," on Priority Records. The three also appeared in the video for the song.
Discography
Singles
Albums
| Year |
Album |
| 1983 |
Mary Jane Girls |
| 1985 |
Only Four You |
| 1986 |
A Fine Mess (soundtrack, which featured their hit "Walk Like a Man") |
| 1994 |
In My House: The Very Best of the Mary Jane Girls |
| 1999 |
Best of Mary Jane Girls |
| 2001 |
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection |
See also
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