Mary Jane (Rick James song)

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"Mary Jane" is a song by late American funk singer Rick James released in 1978 on Come Get It!, his debut album. The song peaked in the top five in the United States in 1978.^[1] As one of his earliest hits as a solo artist, it is one of his most notable songs. It was composed by James, along with keyboardist Billy Nunn, who was credited for the keyboards, strings, background vocals, helping to compose the song, arranging flute parts, and other instrumentation work.

1 History
2 Credits
3 References
4 External Links

[edit] History

Mary Jane was released in 1978 on Rick James debut album Come Get It!, it reached the top five on the Billboard Charts and is one of Rick James first, most notable and signature songs. Mary Jane was one of the first songs to utilize the style of music Rick James labeled "punk-funk."

[edit] Song Information

The song is rumored to be a song written for Rick's fondness of marijuana, as Mary Jane is often used as a nickname for the drug. The song begins with a more intense combination of string instruments and flutes expected in more heavy rock and funk songs only to lead into a more simple doo wup sort of tune. A chorus of women repeatedly sing "doo doo doo doo, Mary Jane!" in a high pitch (giving the song a more light tune and making it sound more like a classic R&B composition) leading into Rick James main vocals. Similar to Rick James' "Superfreak" the lead vocalist (Rick James) narrates his experience with a kinky, voluptuous woman who despite being interested in other men (which is apparantly not cause for shock to James) cheers Rick up with her love and "takes [him] to [a] paradise." Even though Rick is aware she is not the kind of girl that "you can just tie down", he remains attracted and affectionate towards her, even ending the song with lyrics such as "I love her just the same" and "Mary plays no games."

[edit] Impact

The style of music Rick James labeled "punk-funk" which was defined in the song has been used by notable artists such as The Temptations, Smokey Robinson (whom James collaborated with to create the hit "Ebony Eyes"), Cameo, The Gap Band, Eddie Murphy, and The Ohio Players.

[edit] Covers, Samples, and Uses In Other Media

The song has been covered and sampled by numerous amounts of artist. It was sampled in the smash hit I'm Real (Murder Remix), and Dj Honda feat. Beatnuts - On The Mic. Coolio sampled the song to create a hip-hop version called "[I'm In Love With] Mary Jane" on the soundtrack to the film Half-Baked. It was also closely sampled along with another song written by Rick James, known as All Night Long, in Mary J. Blidge's song "Mary Jane (All Night Long)." It is believed to be the origin of the band title for the Mary Jane Girls (a popular band in the 80's) who performed Jame's composition All Night Long. Mary Jane is featured in the 1995 film Friday's soundtrack, as well as the soundtrack to the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Mary Jane's intro is used as the opening song of the popular Rick James skit, it can be briefly heard in the background while Charlie Murphy describes his admiration for Rick James and how much more amazed he was when he met James than all the other celebrities he had the oppurtunity to meet.