Jheri Curl June: Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long”
The Mary Jane Girls were essentially Rick James’ answer to Vanity 6: the girl group Prince constructed as the prostitute foil to The Time‘s pimp image. In this case, though, Rick James might have actually one-upped his longtime rival; for their 1983 American Bandstand performance of “All Night Long,” the girls look like they were literally picked up off…
Jheri Curl June: Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit”
Ladies’ Week continues with “Juicy Fruit,” another jheri-ballad from 1982 by Mtume. The band is named for its founder and lead songwriter, former Miles Davis percussionist James “Mtume” Forman; but the voice you hear front and center in “Juicy Fruit,” as well as the band’s other hits, is female co-vocalist Tawatha Agee. And it’s the…
Jheri Curl June: Evelyn “Champagne” King’s “Love Come Down”
It’s Day Two of our informal Ladies’ Week for Jheri Curl June, which means it’s time to break out the Champagne. “Love Come Down” is the first single from Evelyn “Champagne” King’s 1982 album Get Loose, and it’s as frothy and ebullient as her liquid namesake, with one of those irresistible computerized synth-basslines early-’80s jheri curl…