Olivia Rodrigo‘s first holiday single, “Take Me Home (4 Christmas),” earned plenty of plaudits upon coming out of the gate late Thursday night — none greater than that offered by Chris Butler, the writer of the Waitresses‘ classic 1981 song “Christmas Wrapping,” who said he’d been offered a sneak peek two months ago by Rodrigo.
The new tune is a Christmas rock banger, the likes of which are rarely heard nowadays. While there is no notable compositional or lyrically similarity between “Take Me Home” and “Christmas Wrapping,” the new song has much the same loose, spry and irreverently romantic spirit about it, and some fans of Christmas music were quick to sense Rodrigo’s song being in the spiritual lineage of the Waitresses’, if nothing else. Butler stepped up to say he was happy to pass on the torch, and in fact, had done so long before anyone in the general public was aware of the track.
“Her song was/is great. It’s going to be a smash, maybe even that elusive Christmas #1 contest they have every year in the UK,” Butler enthused on his Facebook page. “I think it’s a fantasticbangersmash, and if it has the same upbeat vibe as ‘CW,’ well…how cool is that? I’m a fan, and I wish her monster success with it. Thanks, Olivia, for the chance to connect.”
Butler was gently snapping back at some Rodrigo antagonists on social media who claimed that the two songs sound too similar. “Thank you for all the comparisons to ‘Christmas Wrapping’,” he wrote in response to one commenter. “The vibe is there, but no plagiarism — and this is from the guy who wrote ‘CW.’ LOVE O.R., too. Happy holidays.”
It may be amusing to some to learn that Butler, 77, had not heard of Rodrigo before getting her note, and, once apprised of who it was, remained in disbelief that it really came from her.
Butler’s original Facebook message:
BACKSTORY: About two months ago, I received a weird email from someone claiming to be “Olivia Rodrigo”. It was filled w/ Waitresses gush, and just had to be fake. Said she’d written a Christmas song, and invited me to hear it.
?????
I didn’t know who OR was, so I did a deep dig. Wow…what a career.
So, I wrote back:
“Um…
Er…
Well. If you really are you, thanks for contacting me. And your comments are really sweet, and very flattering.
They’re really sweet and flattering…even if you AREN’T you.
If you really are Olivia Rodrigo:
I like you.
I like your music.
I like the arrangements especially. Soft-loud-soft, etc. And that your recordings sound like people are playing on them.
I like that you’re insisting on/demanding that you be recognized as a songwriter.
I like that you have women in your band.
I like that your lyrics are intense, real, and poetic.
I like that you “got” my songwriting, and that you like our band.
I like that you were smart enough to hold on to your masters when you signed your deal.
I like that you are you, and will growgrowgrow.
…and I would be honored to hear your Christmas song.
Really.
Best/CB”
…Then she invited Beth and I to her Daisy Chain Festival in LA. Too short notice, but then I got texts from her minder at her label. OR’s 86 show/6 month tour was landing in Columbus, and Ms. Minder repeatedly said “She wants to meet you”.
So, Beth & I did meet her after the show. After just killing it for two+ hours….
A delight.
After the BBC posted a story about his message, Butler continued to shower further praise on Rodrigo, writing, “Kudos to Olivia Rodrigo for doing the right thing. Respect, Fan Boy gush, and wishing that her song is a monster smash.”
“Christmas Wrapping” was written solely by Butler for the group, which was one of the best to come out of the new wave era, and sung by frontwoman Patty Donahue. It was only a cult for song for years after its initial issue 45 years ago — and at first paled in popularity in comparison to their earliest hit, “I Know What Boys Like,” not to mention their “Square Pegs” TV Theme. But in recent years it has come to be as much of a standard on Christmas playlists as smashes from much bigger pop artists of the same era, like Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” The group went separate ways later in the 1980s, and Donahue died of lung cancer in 1996.