The Mary Jane Girls

Just as Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6 wouldn't have existed without Prince, The Mary Jane Girls were created by Rick James and were very much a product of the funkster's imagination. The group's name was coined in the late '70s, 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 '80s were signed to Motown (the R&B powerhouse for which James and his protégée Teena Marie had been recording). With a lineup consisting of Joanne "jojo" Mcduffie (the main singer), Candice "candi" Ghant, Kim "maxi" Wuletich, and Ann "cheri" Bailey, The Mary Jane Girls portrayed various characters James had developed -- while Jojo was the tough street chick and Candi was the glamorous supermodel, Cheri was the cutesy Valley Girl and Maxi was the whip-toting, handcuff-carrying dominatrix in black leather. In 1985, Ann "cheri" Bailey was replaced by Yvette "corvette" Marine.

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