The Mary Jane Girls were the product of punk-funkster Rick James. The group began as James' background singers for his live show. In 1983, perhaps following the precendence of other artists with gimmicky girl groups like Prince's Vanity 6 and George Clinton's Brides of Funkenstein, Rick got four main ladies together for the debut Mary Jane Girls album. While the entire album was written and produced by Mr. James, the different songs and fantasy stage personalities for each of the women represented that there was something for everyone.

For instance, "Candi" (Candice Ghant) portrayed the classy diva.  Cheri Wells played the part of a young, innocent preppy. "Maxi" (Kim Wuletich) acted as a wild leather queen. And lead vocalist "Jojo" (Joanne McDuffie) was sort of like a female version of Slick Rick, complete with beaded cornrows and an in-charge attitude.

Surprisingly, behind the glossy exteriors, this group packed a lot of talent and, in my opinion, their self-titled debut was one of the bright spots in early 80s R&B. It's songs "Candy Man" and "All Night Long" are bonafide "ol school" classics, combining Rick's very tuneful grooves with the ladies' melodic harmonies. And the temptuous "Boys," with it's lyric "You can call me any week /when you feel the need to freak," is a gem that rivals anything on SuperFreak Rick's own records.

For their second album Only Four You, released in '85, Cheri Wells was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine, playing the part of a wild 'n trendy girl. It spawned two top ten singles which were both funky, both typical Rick productions: "In My House" and "Wild & Crazy Love." And on side 2, each of the ladies has their own tailor-made song to sing lead on.