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The Mary Jane Girls were an American R&B, soul and funk group in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. They are known for their hit songs "In My House", "All Night Long", "Candy Man", and their cover version of "Walk Like a Man". 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 Mary Jane Girls released two albums in the 1980s and recorded a third which was set to be finally released in 2014, but which was again delayed indefinitely. ==Career== 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 amongst the musicians, McDuffie, Wells, Ghant and Wuletich used the moniker Mary Jane Girls, a subgroup of James' backing band, the Stone City Band. The girls learned choreographed dance routines and they practiced under a vocal coach. In 1983 James proposed to Motown that McDuffie be offered a solo career but miscommunication caused the label to sign an all-girl group, which he determined would be the Mary Jane Girls.〔Blakcitrus (November 4, 2012). ("The Mary Jane Girls-Boys" ). Kickmag.net.〕 James filled the positions behind McDuffie with Wells, Ghant and Wuletich. He also wrote all the original songs and produced all the recordings. The Waters sisters and McDuffie sang all the parts on the first Mary Jane Girls album: ''Mary Jane Girls'' (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.〔Tommyj (February 21, 2014). ("Flashback Fridays with Rick James" ). ''The Image of Magazine''.〕 The name of the group referenced ''mary jane'', slang for marijuana; a favored recreational drug of James. 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).〔Rhys Jones (September 5, 2008). ("Mary Jane Girls Set Up House On The Charts " ). RetroUniverse.〕 The group released their second album ''Only Four You'' in 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.〔〔 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 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. On the album ''Only For You'', all of the hit singles were sung by McDuffie. Each of the other singers was given the position of lead vocalist for one song. David B. Wilson and John Alroy reviewed these other album tracks, saying that Marine and Wuletich "can't sing at all", but that Ghant "seems to be capable enough" as a singer, though her song "I Betcha" was not successful. None of these songs were released as singles.〔David B. Wilson and John Alroy. (Rick James ). Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews.〕 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' work.〔(Rick James' Catalog Re-Released in Digital Form on July 8, to Coincide with New Autobiography, 'Glow' ). UME, Rhino. July 8, 2014.〕 However, a single was released from the project in 1986, a cover of the Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons hit "Walk Like a Man" which was heard in the film ''A Fine Mess''. This single 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 to it, but the single was not promoted by the label. 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.〔Kyleigh (December 24, 2009). (The Mary Jane Girls ). Rare and Obscure Music.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mary Jane Girls」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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