"Mary Jane" is a song by American musician

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

. It was released on September 9, 1978 as the second single from his debut album ''

Come Get It! ''Come Get It!'' is the debut album by Rick James and the Stone City Band. It was released in April 1978 via the Motown sub-label Gordy Records. The singles " You and I" and " Mary Jane" propelled ''Come Get It!'' to gold status. Critical rece ...

''. The song peaked in the top five on the R&B charts in the United States in 1978, and crossed over to the US Hot 100.

Background

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. The lyrics of the song are a thinly-veiled ode to James' love of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

aka "Mary Jane". During live performances of the song, James frequently had stage props that looked like giant

joints A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

and then would light up an actual joint.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1978 singles Rick James songs Songs about cannabis Songs written by Rick James 1977 songs Gordy Records singles Song recordings produced by Art Stewart Song recordings produced by Rick James