"Let My Love Open the Door" is a song written and performed by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

from his 1980 album '' Empty Glass''. That year, it reached number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It peaked at number five on ''RPM'''s Top 100 singles chart.

Background

Although Townshend is a devotee to the religious guru

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of ...

, he claimed in the liner notes of his '' Anthology'' CD that "Jesus sings" on the track. '' Cash Box'' called it a "joyous, blissful tune

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

features a stirring keyboard-synthesizer melody and multi-tracked high harmonies." "Let My Love Open the Door" was released as the second single from ''Empty Glass'' in Britain, where it was backed with the non-album tracks "Classified" and "Greyhound Girl." The song was a minor British hit, reaching number 46. The song saw more success when it was released as the debut single from ''Empty Glass'' in America, where the song reached number nine. It was Pete Townshend's only solo top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's song "

I Can See for Miles "I Can See for Miles" is a song by the English rock band the Who, recorded for the band's 1967 album '' The Who Sell Out''. Written by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was the only song from the album to be released as a single. Recording Recorde ...

", which was written by Townshend, reached the same position on the chart 13 years earlier. Initially, Townshend's manager despised the track due to it "not sounding like Townshend," and wanted it to be removed from ''Empty Glass.'' However, upon the song's chart success, his manager called to apologize. Despite the song's critical and commercial success, Pete Townshend did not consider it one of his best songs. He told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' in an interview that "Let My Love Open the Door" was "just a ditty," also claiming that he preferred his minor U.S. hit " A Little Is Enough" from the same album. In 1996, Townshend released a new version of the song, called "the E. Cola mix", turning the song into a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. This version appeared in different television shows and film soundtracks.

Personnel

: vocals, guitars, synthesizers *

John "Rabbit" Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an American–English rock keyboardist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Rog ...

: keyboards * Simon Phillips: drums * Tony Butler: bass guitar *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

: mastering engineer

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

The song has been used frequently in film, most notably the comedy genre, often as trailer music for ''

Jerry Maguire ''Jerry Maguire'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama sports film written, produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe; it stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, and Regina King. Produced in part by James L. Brooks, it was ins ...

'' and ''

How Do You Know ''How Do You Know'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed, written and produced by James L. Brooks, and starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson in his final film role. It was the third film to feature W ...

''. It has been featured in

closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

song for ''

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,'' ''

Look Who's Talking ''Look Who's Talking'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling, and starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Bruce Willis plays the voice of Mollie's son, Mikey. The film features George Segal as Albert ...

'', '' Jersey Girl,'' '' Along Came Polly'', '' Red Dog,'' ''

Old Dogs Old Dogs was an American country music supergroup composed of singers Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, and Jerry Reed. Signed in 1998 to Atlantic Records, Old Dogs recorded a self-titled studio album for the label that year. The album ...

'', ''

Put Grandma in the Freezer ''Put Grandma in the Freezer'' ( it, Metti la nonna in freezer) is a 2018 black comedy film directed by Giancarlo Fontana and Giuseppe Stasi. Cast *Fabio De Luigi as Simone Recchia * Miriam Leone as Claudia Maria Lusi *Lucia Ocone as Rossana *Ma ...

'', and '' The Adam Project''. In ''

Dan in Real Life ''Dan in Real Life'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, and stars Steve Carell, Alison Pill, Juliette Binoche, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney and Dane Cook. This is the first Touchstone Pictures film to be distributed by W ...

'', the song is performed by

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in ''The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Ca ...

and

Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released six comedy albums: '' Harmful If Swallowed''; ''Retaliation''; ''Vicious Circle''; '' Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garde ...

and is covered by

Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche (; born 5 September 1982) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist, now based in Los Angeles, California. He has released nine studio albums. Early life Growing up in a suburb of Bergen, Lerche was heavily influenced by 1980s ...

for the film's soundtrack. In 2004, the song was used in commercials for

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

during the holiday season. In 2021, it was used in the "All Night Long" episode of the Apple TV+ series Acapulco during the last scene and end credits.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Let My Love Open The Door 1980 songs 1980 singles Pete Townshend songs Songs written by Pete Townshend Atco Records singles Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) British new wave songs