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All Music Guide:
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.
Wikipedia:
The Mary Jane Girls were an American R&B, soul, funk and disco group in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. They are known for their hit songs "All Night Long", "Candyman" and "In My House".
Formation
The group consisted of Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie (lead/background vocals), Candice "Candi" Ghant, Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich, and Cheryl Bailey (who used stage name Cheri Wells),Yvette"Corvette"Marine and the Water Sisters (Maxine and Julia). The Mary Jane Girls project was to be a solo debut for JoJo, who had sung background for Rick James on tours and recordings. Rick James developed tracks with JoJo and session vocalists the Water Sister creating the Mary Jane Girls sound (see last released Motown compilation for verification).
Motown offered James a contract for what they believed was the girl group he wanted to produce and, not wanting to lose the deal, James lied and told Motown that the Mary Jane Girls were a group and not JoJo's solo project. Rick got who he could to take pictures for Motown with no vocal auditions. JoJo continued to sing both lead and background with the Water Sisters for all of the Mary Jane Girl recordings.The other members of the group could not sing at all or were extremely limited vocally.The band had to sing for the other members of the group with JoJo on tour.The inability of the other members vocally with the exception of JoJo prevented the group from achieving their full potential. Television shows (Saturday Night Live, Tonight Show) could not have the group perform because of this.
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; a female version of James himself.Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich – dominatrix.Candice "Candi" Ghant - Vamp.Cheri Wells/ Yvette "Corvette" Marine – Valley girlCheri left the group shortly before the release of their second album, Only Four You in 1985 and was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine who took on the role of the Valley Girl/Wild and Trendy Girl in the group.
Career
The group's self-titled debut album was released in 1983 and 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." The group released their second album Only Four You in 1985. That album's lead single "In My House" became the group's biggest hit, reaching #3 on the R&B chart and then crossing 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. It also charted on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at #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 (#10) and dance charts (#3). It barely missed the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #42. The last single, "Break It Up," only reached #79 on the R&B chart and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. 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 song missed the U.S. Top 40 by one spot. The group's next single, "Shadow Lover," was released in the spring of 1986, but problems between Motown and Rick James resulted in little promotion for the single, although it was performed on Soul Train. That same year, the Mary Jane Girls were ready to record their third album titled Conversation. The album was never released and the group officially broke up in 1987.
After Ghant and Wuletich left the group, JoJo McDuffie carried on as a solo artist. She also recorded with Rick James on his 1997 Urban Rhapsody album on the track "Never Say You Love Me," which was originally written for Teena Marie. After leaving the Mary Jane Girls, Cheryl 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. In 1993, a jury eventually ruled against Marine.
In 1995, McDuffie, Ghant, and Wuletich, under the name "MJG," appeared on the daytime talk show Jenny Jones as the show's first musical guests. By 1997 Ghant and Wuletich left the group once again.
