This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2014) |
"No Milk Today" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Herman's Hermits | ||||
from the album There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World | ||||
B-side | "My Reservation's Been Confirmed" | |||
Released |
| |||
Recorded | 13 August 1966 | |||
Studio | De Lane Lea, London | |||
Genre | Baroque pop, pop | |||
Length | 2:56 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Graham Gouldman | |||
Producer(s) | Mickie Most | |||
Herman's Hermits singles chronology | ||||
|
"No Milk Today" is a song that was written by Graham Gouldman and originally recorded by British pop band Herman's Hermits. It was first released as a single by the Mancunian group in the UK in October 1966 and, with the B-side "My Reservation's Been Confirmed", enjoyed chart success, peaking at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart. [1] Although not released as a single in the US ("Dandy" was released in its place with the same B-side), it was popular enough to become a moderate hit when it was released there as the B-side to "There's a Kind of Hush", reaching No. 35 in 1967 (the A-side reaching No. 4). It was also a major hit in many European countries.
The song, which is dominated by its downcast reflective verses in A-minor and neatly complemented by its interjecting upbeat chorus in A-major, was the second major song Gouldman wrote for Herman's Hermits (the previous being "Listen People", a US #3). [2]
The lyrics refer to the practice, common at the time, of milkmen delivering fresh milk in bottles to residential houses each morning. The love interest of the song's protagonist has just moved out, so the household needs less milk. The notice in front of the house, asking the milkman not to leave the usual bottle, while seeming mundane to passers-by ("how could they know just what this message means?"), symbolises to the singer himself the break-up of his relationship ("the end of all my dreams"). [3] Gouldman wrote the song for The Hollies after he saw a "no milk today" notice outside a friend's house one day, and his father observed that could be for various reasons. [4]
The single was the first track for which the band employed a string section. [3]
John Paul Jones, later of Led Zeppelin fame, was credited for introducing the chimes during the song, publicly praised by Peter Noone.
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 7 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [5] | 35 |
Later the song was recorded by Gouldman himself as the sole single (released with "The Impossible Years") from his 1968 debut album The Graham Gouldman Thing and, in 2006, it was included on the compilation album Greatest Hits ... And More , released by Gouldman's own band 10cc.
The song was extensively used in a 2009 commercial campaign for the Norwegian milk company Tine. It was also used for a commercial of the Dutch milk company Coberco in the 1990s.
A German version "Brötchen und Milch" was released by the Oldenburg beat group The Four Kings on the Metronome label in 1966. The Spanish rendering "Todo Cambió" was recorded in 1967 by Lita Torelló (es). In 1984 it became a big Czechoslovakian hit sung by Josef Melen as "Né, pětku né!" (words by František Ringo Čech).
"No Milk Today" has also been included in the official Sons of Anarchy soundtrack, covered by frequent soundtrack contributor The Forest Rangers, featuring folk singer Joshua James. The cover appeared in the first episode of season 3.
The ex YU and Serbian band Riblja Čorba produced a hard rock cover in Serbian, "Danas nema mleka", a protest song criticizing the Slobodan Milošević regime, for their 1993 album Zbogom, Srbijo . Inspired by the title of the original, the Serbian cover turns the meaning around and opens up with the lyrics "Danas nema mleka, danas nema hleba" ("today there is no milk, today there is no bread"), criticizing the heavily declined standard of living in Serbia at the time. [6]
Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester and fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous transatlantic hits in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. Between March and August 1965 in the States, the group logged twenty-four consecutive weeks in the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100 with five singles, including the two number ones "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am". Their other international Sixties hits include "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", the two covers "Silhouettes" and "Wonderful World", "A Must to Avoid", "There's a Kind of Hush", "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving", "Something's Happening" and "My Sentimental Friend", all of which were produced by Mickie Most. They also appeared in four films, two of which were vehicles for the band.
The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester, England. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart hits with "The Game of Love" in 1965 and "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1966.
10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured two songwriting teams. Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop songwriters, who created most of the band's accessible songs. Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring art and cinematically inspired writing.
"Bus Stop" is a song recorded and released as a single by the British rock band the Hollies in 1966. It reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the Hollies' first US top ten hit, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard charts in September 1966. In Canada the song reached No. 1 and was their second top ten hit there.
Graham Keith Gouldman is an English singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10cc, Gouldman worked as a freelance songwriter and penned many hits for major rock and pop groups, including the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Ohio Express.
"There's a Kind of Hush" is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens. Originally recorded by Stephens' group the New Vaudeville Band in 1967 as a neo-British music hall number, this version of the track became a hit in Australia and South Africa. However, in the rest of the world, a near-simultaneous cover was a big hit for Herman's Hermits. The song was a charted hit again in 1976 for The Carpenters.
"The End of the World" is a pop song written by composer Arthur Kent and lyricist Sylvia Dee, who often worked as a team. They wrote the song for American singer Skeeter Davis, and her recording of it was highly successful in the early 1960s, reaching the top five on four different charts, including No. 2 on the main Billboard Hot 100. It spawned many cover versions.
"Heartbeat" is a rockabilly song originally recorded by Bob Montgomery and credited to Norman Petty. It was recorded most famously by Buddy Holly in 1958. The B-side of the single was "Well... All Right". "Heartbeat" reached the UK top 10 twice: once in 1975 for Showaddywaddy at number seven and again in 1992 for Nick Berry, recorded as the theme to the television series Heartbeat, which reached number two.
"Winchester Cathedral" is a song by the New Vaudeville Band, a British novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens, and was released in late 1966 by Fontana Records.
The Graham Gouldman Thing is the debut album by singer-songwriter Graham Gouldman, later a founding member of 10cc.
"Dandy" is a 1966 song by the Kinks, appearing on their album Face to Face.
There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World is the fifth album released by MGM Records in the US and Canada for the band Herman's Hermits. It was released in March 1967. In the UK, There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World is the band's third album, released by EMI/Columbia in May 1967.
"I'm into Something Good" is a song composed by Gerry Goffin (lyrics) and Carole King (music) and made famous by Herman's Hermits. The song was originally recorded by Cookies member Earl-Jean on Colpix Records in 1964. It entered the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 charts in the US on 4 July 1964 and spent 8 weeks there, reaching a high of number 42 on 15 August 1964, and number 38 Billboard.
Zbogom, Srbijo is the twelfth studio album from Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba, released in 1993.
The Dandy(EP) by Herman's Hermits is the band's sixth EP and was released in Great Britain by EMI Records, in 1966. This EP recording was produced by Mickie Most, who produced records for such groups as The Animals, Donovan, Suzi Quatro, and The Jeff Beck Group.
"Don't Go Out into the Rain " is a 1966 song. The song was written by Brill Building songsmith Kenny Young who himself made the original recording of the song – as "Don't Go Out into the Rain " – leading a session group credited as the Seagulls. This version broke in the Miami area in December 1966 and was consequently picked up for national release by Date Records failing to garner enough regional attention to reach the Billboard Hot 100.
Harvey Brian Lisberg is an English talent manager and impresario, best known for discovering Herman's Hermits in 1963. In 1965, he signed songwriter Graham Gouldman, a founder member of 10cc, who Lisberg also managed, along with Godley & Creme, Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Gordon Giltrap, Sad Café, Wax and others.
"But It's Alright" is a song co-written by J. J. Jackson and Pierre Tubbs that became a hit on the pop and soul charts in both 1966 and 1969.
Into Something Good: The Mickie Most Years 1964–1972 is a 4-CD box set by British pop group Herman's Hermits, released 2008 on EMI.
"Any Way That You Want Me" is a song written by Chip Taylor that was first released in September 1966 by Tina Mason as the B-side to her single "Finders Keepers". It has been covered by a number of artists, with the most successful version being by English rock band the Troggs.