MARY JANE GIRLS - IN MY HOUSE

Released : October 1984

Charted:  UK: #77    US: #7 

"In My House" is a song produced, written and arranged by American musician Rick James and recorded by his protégées, the Mary Jane Girls, for their 1985 second studio album, “Only Four You”. It was released as the album's lead single in October 1984 by Gordy Records. James released a song in 1978 called “Mary Jane" which is about his love for marijuana, so the group name is rather obvious (although one of the four members, JoJo McDuffie, claimed it could be a term for femininity, or possibly the shoes little girls wore).

The song finds the girls inviting a guy over for some good loving anytime he feels the need. It's an inviting offer, as they promise to satisfy his every need. McDuffie claimed it was an answer to all the songs where guys lure women to their houses. "How many women have dreamt of doing the same thing?," she said.

This song got the attention of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which put it on their list of 15 songs they found patently offensive, in this case, for sexual content. The group formed in May 1985, shortly after this song peaked on the charts. Founded by four wives of prominent politicians (including Tipper Gore, wife of then-Senator Al Gore), they succeeded in getting warning stickers placed on albums with objectionable content. "I remember being really, really irritated, because there was nothing in the song that would suggest anything inappropriate," JoJo McDuffie told Newsweek. "Was the song about sex? Of course it was. But lyrically, it was very tastefully done."

The "In My House" video was directed by Mark Rezyka, who was one of the most prolific directors of the era. It shows the girls doing some light dancing in a very nice house. MTV aired the video, something they didn't do for Rick James clips.