Released 11 November 1997 Recorded 16 June 1969 Length 3:00 | Format CD single: US | |
B-side "Whole Lotta Love (Medley)" | ||
"The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair" (also known as "The Girl I Love") is a song performed by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded by the BBC on 16 June 1969 for Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae show during the band's UK Tour of Summer 1969, being broadcast on 22 June 1969. The song eventually found its way onto the live Led Zeppelin album BBC Sessions, released in 1997. This is the only known performance of the song by the band, as no other audio document has been unearthed of it being performed live at Led Zeppelin concerts.
The guitar riff played by Jimmy Page that drives this song is similar to that played by Page on the later Led Zeppelin track "Moby Dick", released in October 1969 on the album Led Zeppelin II. The lyrics in the first verse are an adaptation of the 1929 blues recording "The Girl I Love She Got Long Curley Hair" by Sleepy John Estes. Snippets of the song appeared in the "Whole Lotta Love" medley until 1971.