Mary Jane (Rick James song)

"Mary Jane" is a song by the late American funk singer Rick James released in 1978 from his debut album Come Get It!. The song peaked in the top five on the R&B charts 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.

History

"Mary Jane" was released in 1978 on Rick James debut album, Come Get It!, and was one of the first songs to utilize the style of music Rick James labeled "punk-funk."

Song information

The song is about James' fondness for marijuana; "Mary Jane" is a slang term for "marijuana" from Spanish to English. 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 wop 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 (in this case, "marijuana" personified) who despite being interested in other men (which is apparently not cause for shock to James) cheers Rick up with her love and "takes [him] to 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."

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 (with whom James collaborated to create the hit "Ebony Eyes"), Cameo, The Gap Band, Eddie Murphy, and The Ohio Players.

Covers, samples, and uses in other media

The song has been covered and sampled by numerous artists. It was sampled for the song "Weakness" by Detroit Hip Hop Group House of Krazees, off their 1995 EP Outbreed. It was sampled in the smash hit I'm Real (Murder Remix), Jane (1988) by EPMD, Smoke Buddah by Redman, Mari by Frost, 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. Blige's song "Mary Jane (All Night Long)." The introduction to the song is sampled in Pretty Ricky's "On the Hotline." Though the tempo has been slowed, the melody heard in Weezer's "Peace", bears resemblance to the opening riff of Mary Jane. 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 on James' 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. Mack 10's song On Them Thangs uses a sample from this song. 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 opportunity to meet.

Credits

• Lead Vocals by Rick James
• Background Vocals and Instrumentation by Billy Nunn
• Composed by Rick James
• Produced by Art Stewart

References

1. ^ "Come Get It! Rick James". December 4, 2007. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10186. 

External links

• Mary Jane Lyrics by CMT.com