Mary Jane Girls videos
Mary Jane, MJ Girls, MJG, MJG's, The Mary Jane Girls, The Mary Jane Girls (Lisa Sarna, Joanne McDuffie, Tabby Johnson)
The Mary Jane Girls were brought together by Rick James in 1979, hired as back-up singers for his tour. It is believed that with the formation of rival Prince's sexy new girl group Vanity 6 in 1982, James wished to compete with his own sexy quartet. He got a deal for the girls on Motown and gave them their group name, which was based on his funk hit Mary Jane (an obvious reference to his beloved marijuana). He also conceived sexy stage names for the members: JoJo, Candi, Maxi and Cheri. They had instant success on the soul charts with their James produced self-titled debut album, which spawned hits in 'Boys', 'All Night Long' and 'Candy Man'. In 1985, 'Cheri' (aka Ann Bailey, who became lead singer of Morris Day's short-lived girl group The Day Zs) left the group and was replaced by 'Corvette'. They released their second and last album, Only Four You, which included successful singles 'Wild And Crazy Love', 'Break It Up' and their biggest hit 'In My House'. A remake of the Four Seasons' song 'Walk Like A Man' (from the soundtrack of the film A Fine Mess) was their final release. Due to Rick James' battle with Motown, they were dropped, and though it was rumored that they were recording a new album with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in 1987, it was never released. Corvette (aka Yvette Marine) was in the news a few years later after suing Paula Abdul, claiming that she and not Paula sang lead on most of the songs on the Forever Your Girl album.
Just as Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6 wouldn't have existed without Prince, the Mary Jane Girls were created by Rick James and were very much a product of the funkster's imagination. The group's name was coined in the late '70s, when James hired them as background singers for his Stone City Band. the Mary Jane Girls (whose name underscored James' fondness for marijuana) soon became an actual group, and in the early '80s were signed to Motown (the R&B powerhouse for which James and his protégée Teena Marie had been recording). With a lineup consisting of Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie (the main singer), Candice "Candi" Ghant, Kim "Maxi" Wuletich, and Ann "Cheri" Bailey, the Mary Jane Girls portrayed various characters James had developed -- while JoJo was the tough street chick and Candi was the glamorous supermodel, Cheri was the cutesy Valley Girl and Maxi was the whip-toting, handcuff-carrying dominatrix in black leather. In 1985, Ann "Cheri" Bailey was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine.
James did all of the writing and producing on the Mary Jane Girls' self-titled debut album of 1983 (which boasted such hits as the infectious "Candy Man" and the sexy, irresistible "All Night Long") as well as on the group's sophomore effort of 1985, Only Four You. That album contained the number three R&B hit "In My House" and the number ten R&B hit "Wild and Crazy Love." The only song James didn't write for the group was a 1986 cover of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man," which was included in the comedy film A Fine Mess. Regrettably, the Mary Jane Girls never recorded a third album. James had a major falling out with Motown in the mid-'80s, and this would lead to the group's breakup. When Ghant was working at the music-industry trade magazine Black Radio Exclusive in 1986, she told On the Scene magazine that she hoped to see the Mary Jane Girls continue and work with hit producers/songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. But that never came about. By 1987, the group had officially broken up.