"Love Walks In" by Van Halen

Song#:  2827
Date:  08/09/1986
Debut:  67
Peak:  22
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Although the second single from their 5150 album, "Dreams," stalled shy of the Pop Top 20 (#22) it got a lot of airplay on MTV and at Rock where the track got to #6. Next up was this track. It was another winner at Rock where the song made it to #4. At Pop, the tune peaked at the same #22 spot as their previous single and remained on the chart for one additional week. The song kept sales of the album steady. It was still riding in the Top 20 after peaking at #1 for three weeks earlier in April/May. It was well on its way to selling over six million copies.

ReduxReview:  This mid-tempo effort was probably the closest Van Halen would get to a power ballad. The radio-friendly track was an appropriate follow-up to "Dreams" and like that song, I thought it would do a little better on the Pop chart. Still, it would be their second album in a row to produce three Top 40 singles. I like that the minor verse leads to a sweet chorded chorus. I think this is the type of song that Van Halen would have not come up with or done with David Lee Roth. Something like this wasn't in his wheelhouse, but with Hagar it was possible. Another quality track from the album.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  The cover of the 5150 album showed an Atlas-like muscled guy holding up a globe that is encircled by the Van Halen initial logo. The man who posed for the photo is bodybuilder Rick Valente. A friend of Valente's tipped him off that there were auditions for a photo shoot happening at the gym they worked out at and encouraged Valente to show up. He did and he ended up getting the job. Valente said in an interview that he was shocked when the album came out and it was just him on the cover. Valente won his first bodybuilding title at the age of 19 and won several more over the years. He ended up being a fixture at the famous Gold's gym at Venice Beach, California, and worked out alongside celebrities like Hulk Hogan and Lou Ferrigno. He eventually became a personal trainer there. In 1989, Valente became the host of the ESPN fitness/exercise show BodyShaping. The show would run for more than a decade.
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