Song:In My House
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Mary Jane Girls
In My House was the only top ten pop hit for the girl group Mary Jane Girls in 1985. They had a few other R & B hits. The perception was that Mary Jane Girls were Rick James' backup singers. That's partially true. Joanne "JoJo" McDuffie did sing backup vocals on James' 1982 album Throwin' Down. James thought she was good enough to record a solo album. He had already turned former backup singer Teena Marie into a star. The plan was for Joanne to record and veteran backup singers Maxine & Julia Waters, known as The Waters Sisters, would back her up. They had worked with James for several years. Motown thought James was developing a girl group and he lied to them so he wouldn't lose the contract. The 1982 album Mary Jane Girls was recorded as a Joanne McDuffie solo album with The Waters Sisters. James found three other girls to put on the album cover and in videos. He even gave them characters to play. Joanne McDuffie was the tough girl. Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich was a dominatrix, Candi Ghant was a vamp and Cheri Wells was a Valley girl. The album was certified Gold and singles like All Night Long did well on the R & B and Dance charts. Performing live was a problem because only Joanne was a professional singer. Cheri Wells was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine. She is the daughter of singer Patti Brooks. The second album Only For You was more of a group album as the group members did sing on the album and all were given the opportunity to sing lead on songs. In My House reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it reached #3 on the R & B Singles chart. The album was certified Gold. The Mary Jane Girls were getting ready to record a third album when Rick James left Motown for Reprise Records. That was the end of Mary Jane Girls. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Joanne McDuffie continues to tour the oldies circuit as lead singer of Mary Jane Girls. Today In My House is considered a classic and is frequently sampled by hip hop guys. Here's the video for In My House by Mary Jane Girls.
Teena Marie was never a backup singer. She was signed to Motown as a singer/songwriter before Rick James. Other Motown artists, including Tata Vega and Gordy's group that was comprised of his son and nephew and Benny Medina recorded and released Teena music before she ever put out her own..
ReplyDeleteYeah and she sang backup on Rick James' first two records. Look it up.
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