When the Music of Our Lives Starts to Fade
Mary Jane Girls, Marsha Ambrosius, and the musical afterlife
The summer of 2024 has been surreal.
Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s the world. The existential inflection points from which we’re running seem to have saddled the sticky summer air with a heavy foreboding. Those not palpably on edge appear visibly slumped under the weight of it all.
Adding to the ennui is the fact that, at least here in Washington, DC, it doesn’t quite sound like summer. It didn’t dawn on me until mid-August that, for the first time in memory, I hadn’t heard “All Night Long” by the Mary Jane Girls all summer.
That might not seem unusual to you. The Rick James-produced girl group released the single in 1983. It was a hit, peaking at number 8 on Billboard’s Dance chart and 11 on R&B, but far from a smash. However, in Washington, DC, “All Night Long” is an institution like half smokes and mumbo sauce, particularly come summer.
In late 20th Century DC, summer was synonymous with block parties. That’s not to say block parties are exclusive to DC. Our parties, however, were events.
In my neighborhood, the block party was a community celebration encompassing several blocks between Georgia Avenue and 16th Street. The early part of the…
