"Let Her In" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Gary Benson, and released as a single in 1973. It was covered by John Travolta in 1976, and was released as the first single from Travolta's self-titled second album. Travolta's version was a hit, spending five months on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and peaking at number 10. It also reached number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. On the Cash Box chart, the song peaked at number five. In Canada, "Let Her In" reached number seven on the RPM Top Singles chart.

"Let Her In"
Side A of the Australian single
Single by John Travolta
from the album John Travolta
B-side"Big Trouble"
ReleasedApril 1976
StudioSigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
Genre
Length3:03
LabelMidland Intl.
Songwriter(s)Gary Benson
Producer(s)Bob Reno
John Travolta singles chronology
"Right Time of the Night"
(1974)
"Let Her In"
(1976)
"Whenever I'm Away from You"
(1976)

"Let Her In" was released at the end of the first year of the four-year run of Welcome Back, Kotter, in which Travolta starred.

This song was his first and only top-ten hit as a solo artist in the United States, and the biggest hit of his in any country not to be tied to the film Grease. It was included on his 1978 double album compilation, Travolta Fever.

Chart performance

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Reception

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Tom Breihan criticized Travolta's performance of "a moony and generic song" in his December 2019 Stereogum article and later called it "truly wretched" in his January 2020 A.V. Club article.[12][13] Paul Grein of Billboard in August 2022 called the ballad "mopey".[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Sigma Sound Studios: Singles 1968-1978". Billboard. September 16, 1978. p. SS-11. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  2. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "Sweathog Nation: Bubblegum". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
  3. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  4. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  5. ^ "Music lyrics, charts, Games, & more". Top40db.net. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 242.
  7. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 31, 1976". Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 313. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1976". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  12. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 16, 2019). "The Number Ones: John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John's 'You're The One That I Want'". Stereogum. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Breihan, Tom (January 24, 2020). "A young John Travolta made Grease watchable—and a huge box-office smash". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  14. ^ Grein, Paul (August 10, 2022). "Forever No. 1: John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John's You're the One That I Want". Retrieved October 25, 2022. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
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