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Joanne “JoJo” McDuffie, Cheryl Ann “Cheri” Bailey, Yvette “Corvette” Marine, Candice “Candi” Ghant, and Kimberly “Maxi” Wuletich were back-up singers for Rick James’s Stone City Band. When James approached Motown about a solo outing for JoJo they thought he was proposing an all girl group and he accepted their offer. The Mary Jane Girls debuted in 1983 and “All Night Long,” “Boys” and “Candy Man” were hit songs that made the group another icon of the ’80’s. They were inevitably compared to Prince’s female offshoots Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6 because of the rivalry between the two musicians. Prince’s groups were considered sexier but The Mary Jane Girls had more market success and artistic credibility because of JoJo’s vocals. Only For You was their 1985 second album driven by the popularity of the single “In My House.” The group recorded a third album titled Conversation and released the “Shadow Lover” single to promote it but the project was shelved and the group dissolved in 1987. In 2003 the group appeared on VH1’s Where Are The Now? and all them are currently involved in various entertainment ventures.
