The Waitresses
The Waitresses | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Akron, Ohio, United States[1][2] |
| Genres | New wave |
| Years active | 1978–1984 |
| Labels | ZE Records, Polydor, Omnivore |
| Past members | Chris Butler Patty Donahue Billy Ficca Dan Klayman Mars Williams Dave Hofstra Ariel Warner Tracy Wormworth Ralph Carney Holly Beth Vincent |
The Waitresses were an experimental post-punk band from Akron, Ohio.[1][2] The group was led by guitarist/songwriter Chris Butler with lead vocals performed by Patty Donahue.[1][3]
Career
They had minor success in the United States with the song "I Know What Boys Like", from their 1982 debut album Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful.[3] "I Know What Boys Like" was originally released as a single in 1980[4][5] but did not chart initially.[citation needed] The song was an underground hit, however, and by 1982 it peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100,[6] No. 23 on Billboard's Top Tracks chart,[7] No. 14 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report),[5] and also charted in the UK.[2]
The Waitresses also recorded the theme song to the television program Square Pegs,[3][8] which aired during the 1982–1983 season.[9] (The band also appeared as themselves in the pilot episode.)[9] Their Christmas song "Christmas Wrapping" was originally released on the ZE Records album A Christmas Record in 1981,[1] and became a No. 45 hit in the United Kingdom in 1982.[3][10] The song was subsequently covered by the Spice Girls in 1998, as the B-side of their single "Goodbye"[1][11] and by the television show Glee sung by the character Brittany for their 2011 Christmas special, which aired December 13, 2011.[12][12][13]
The group released two albums, Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful and Bruiseology, and one EP, I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts.[1] For many years, none of these were easily available on CD, but that was rectified by 2013's Just Desserts: The Complete Waitresses, which collects virtually all of the band's recordings for Polygram.[14]
The band's lead singer Patty Donahue left in summer 1984 and was briefly replaced by Holly Beth Vincent. Vincent left the band two weeks later and Donahue returned.[2][3] The band finally split up in late 1984 after the departures of Carney and Klayman.[citation needed]
Donahue died of lung cancer at the age of 40 on December 9, 1996.[3]
Discography
Albums
| Released | Title | Chart positions Billboard 200 |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful? | 41 | Polydor |
| 1982 | I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts EP | 128 | Polydor |
| 1983 | Bruiseology | 155 | Polydor |
| 1984 | Make the Weather EP | – | Polydor |
| 1990 | The Best of The Waitresses | – | Polydor |
| 1997 | King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents The Waitresses | – | King Biscuit |
| 2003 | 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Waitresses | – | Polydor |
| 2007 | Your Choice of Sides − A Collection of Outtakes & Obscuriosities | – | Unreleased[15] |
| 2013 | Just Desserts: The Complete Waitresses | – | Omnivore[14]> |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | UK | |||
| 1978 | In "Short Stack" ("Slide" / "Clones") | — | — | single |
| 1980 | "I Know What Boys Like" / "No Guilt" | — | — | single[4] |
| 1981 | "Christmas Wrapping" | — | — | A Christmas Record |
| 1982 | "I Know What Boys Like" | 62 | — | Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful? |
| "Square Pegs" | — | — | I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts | |
| "Christmas Wrapping" | — | 45 | A Christmas Record | |
| 1983 | "Make the Weather" | — | — | Bruiseology |
Principal band members
- Patty Donahue (lead vocals, 1978–1983, 1984)
- Chris Butler (guitars, background vocals)
- Mars Williams (saxophone, reed instruments)
- Billy Ficca (drums)
- Dan Klayman (keyboards/organ)
- Tracy Wormworth (bass, background vocals) (1982–1984)
- David Hofstra (bass) (1978–1982)
- Ariel Warner (background vocals) (1978–1982)
- Ralph Carney (keyboards)
- Holly Beth Vincent (briefly replaced Donahue as lead vocalist, 1984)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Huey, Steve. "The Waitresses: Biography". All Music Guide. Billboard.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Moore, Christie (October 30, 2006). ""W: The Waitresses"". The Unultimate Rockopedia. AuthorHouse. p. 408. ISBN 1-425964-74-5. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Talevski, Nick (August 1, 2006). "Patti Donahue". Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries. Omnibus Press. p. 137. ISBN 1-846090-91-1. Retrieved October 25, 2012. Source states The Waitresses were based in Kent, Ohio, rather than Akron.
- ^ a b Popoff, Martin (September 2, 2010). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948-1991. Krause. p. 1233. ISBN 1-440216-21-5. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ a b "Top Album Picks: First Time Around". Billboard. 94 (5): 71. February 6, 1982. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 25, 2012. "The self-made single, 'I Know What Boys Like', has been a New York club favorite for a couple of years now..." (emphasis added). Cite error: The named reference "Billboard_1982-02-06" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Hot 100: Week of June 12, 1982". Billboard.com. June 12, 1982. Retrieved October 25, 2012. This chart shows the song at position 96, but includes an inset giving its highest chart position of 62.
- ^ "Billboard Rock Albums & Top Tracks". Billboard. 94 (8): 24. February 27, 2012. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ "Waitresses, The – I Could Rule The World If I Could Only Get the Parts". Discogs.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ a b "The Waitresses". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 589. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "100 Hot Holiday Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ a b "'Glee' Extraordinary Merry Christmas (2011)". IMDb. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ Votta, Rae (December 14, 2011). "'Glee' Recap: Anything But a Silent Night". Billboard.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Just Desserts: The Complete Waitresses". Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Your Choice of Sides − A Collection of Outtakes & Obscuriosities". hardcafe.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
Further reading
- Michaels, Randolph (September 30, 2005). "From the Desk of Chris Butler, Guitarist for The Waitresses". Flashbacks to Happiness: Eighties Music Revisited. iUniverse. p. 205−207. ISBN 0-595370-07-1. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- "Old School" (February 25, 2012). "Back to the 80s: Interview with Chris Butler of The Waitresses" (blog). Kickin' it Old School. tBlog.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.