Formed 1979 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Disbanded 1987
The Mary Jane Girls comprised of:
Joanne 'Jojo' McDuffie
Yvette Marine
Candice Ghant
Kim Wuletich
and
Ann Bailey
In a similar way to Vanity 6 and Appollonia 6, the bands wouldn't have existed without Prince, The Mary Jane Girls were created by Rick James and were very much a product of the his vivid imagination.
The group's name was coined in the late 1970's, 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 1980's, were signed to Motown Records (the R & B powerhouse for which James and his protege Teena Marie had been recording).
The Mary Jane Girls portrayed various characters James had developed.
In 1985, Ann 'Cheri' Bailey was replaced by Yvette 'Corvette' Marine.
Rick 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 'All Night Long', with it's bassline bearing a similarity to that of Keni Burke's 'Rising To The Top') as well as on the group's maturing effort of 1985, 'Only For You'.
That album contained the number 3 R & B hit 'In My House' and the number 10 R & B hit 'Wild And Crazy Love.'
The only song James didn't write for the group was a 1986 cover of Frank Valli & The Four Seasons' 'Walk Like A Man,' which was included in the comedy film 'A Fine Mess'.
Unfortunately, The Mary Jane Girls never recorded a third album.
Rick James had a major falling out with Motown in the mid-1980's, 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 & Terry Lewis.
That never came about and by 1987, the group had officially broken up.
Albums:
Mary Jane Girls (Motown 1983)
Only Four You (Motown 1985)
