The Magic Lanterns - No Milk Today (1968)

This group didn’t get a Top 30 hit until 1968 when they had already been together for six years. In total, the band was able to scrape together three charting songs in the US as well as three in their native UK. But prior to their charting days (which at one point featured Godley & Creme), the band was still hard at work, hoping to make a name for themselves in their home of Warrington, Lancashire. Although the band never really hit the big time, they put together a handful of songs that are definitely worth listening to.

The song heard below was written by Graham Gouldman in 1966 for the band The Hollies, still featuring Graham Nash. Its lyrics, although seemingly strange, had very little to do with milk. Gouldman has been quoted as stating that his father was largely responsible for the message of the song. He said that he and his father had seen a sign on a neighbor’s home, “no milk today,” indicating to the neighborhood milkman that the home wouldn’t need their daily milk delivered for whatever reason. It was expressed to Gouldman by his father that there could be various reasons why the house didn’t require milk on that day. One such reason he hypothesized was that the man who lived in the house had recently been left by his significant other, resulting in less need for milk and adding much depth to the simple sign.

When the song had been passed up by The Hollies, it was given to Herman’s Hermits. It was the second hit song Gouldman had written for Herman’s Hermits (the first being “Listen People,” reaching number three), reaching number seven on the charts. The version of the song heard below was covered by The Magic Lanterns in 1968 for their debut album, Lit Up – with The Magic Lanterns, recorded on CBS Records for distribution in the UK. The most obvious difference made by The Magic Lanterns in their cover is the increase and decrease of tempo.



The Magic Lanterns - No Milk Today (1968)

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Lyrics:

No milk today
My love has gone away
The bottles stand forlorn
Greeting the summer dawn

“No milk today”
It seems a common sight
The people passing by
Don't know the reason why

How could they know
Just what this message means?
The end of my hopes
The end of all my dreams

How could they know
The palace there had been?
Behind the door
Where my love has been

No milk today
It wasn't always so
The company was gay
We'd turn night into day

As music played
The faster did we dance
We felt it both at once
The start of our romance

How could they know
Just what this message means?
The end of my hope
The end of all my dreams
(Hey!)

How could they know
A palace there had been?
Behind the door
Where my love has been

No milk today
It wasn't always so
The company was gay
We'd turn night into day

As music played
The faster did we dance
We felt it both at once
The start of our romance

How could they know
Just what this message means?
The end of my hope
The end of all my dreams
(Hey!)

How could they know
A palace there had been?
Behind the door
Where my love has been

No milk today
My love has gone away
The bottles stand forlorn
Greeting the summer dawn

“No milk today”
It seems a common sight
The people passing by
Don't know the reason why

The Vejtables - I Still Love You (1965)

This folk rock group was started in Millibrae, California in 1964 while its members (Ned Hollis, Bob Bailey, Jan Errico, Rick Dey, and Bob Cole) were still in high school. They began their journey by touring the bars of San Francisco, notably along the famous El Camino Real. When the band put on their live performances, they often surprised audiences by having a female drummer, Jan Errico, who also sang lead. The group was signed to Autumn Records in late 1964 or early 1965 and managed to squeak onto the charts once.

Written by Jan Errico and released in July of 1965, the song heard below was the band’s only track to make it on the charts, albeit near the bottom. The song has a bit of a British vibe to it, as all songs of the era usually did in thanks to The Beatles. It also has a similar sound to The Beau Brummels, which could probably be explained by the fact that The Beau Brummels were on the same label.

By the end of 1965/early 1966, Errico, who at some point had changed her surname to Ashton, parted ways with the group, feeling they were moving in a direction she didn’t agree with. She went on to join The Mojo Men, who had already released a bit of material without Errico, while the rest of The Vejtables began experimenting with the heavy psychedelic sounds that began arriving around 1966. Without Errico and without success, the new lineup disbanded before 1967 had even arrived.



The Vejtables - I Still Love You (1965)

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Lyrics:

I still love you, even though I know I shouldn’t
I still want you, even though I know it wouldn’t
Do me any good to say I love you more each day
But I know now that your love for me has gone astray

When I held you in my arms the other night
I could tell that something just wasn’t right
My love for you was not returned in that same old way
Then, I knew that very soon there would come a day
When I’d lose you

Oh yeah
When I’d lose you

Everyone told me that this would happen some way
But all I did was laugh and say

“Now you’re just jealous”
(Oh yeah)
“‘cause I’ve got a love that’s true”
(Don’t you know?)
But love, I realized
That they were only trying to help me

When I held you in my arms the other night
I could tell that something just wasn’t right
My love for you was not returned in that same old way
Then, I knew that very soon there would come a day
When I’d lose you

Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah