| "The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Led Zeppelin | |
| from the album BBC Sessions | |
| B-side | "Whole Lotta Love (Medley)" |
| Released | November 11, 1997 |
| Format | CD single: US |
| Recorded | June 16, 1969 |
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock |
| Length | 3:07 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Writer(s) | Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant/Estes |
| Producer | Paul Williams, Jimmy Page |
"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 June 16, 1969 for Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae show during the band's U.K. Tour of Summer 1969, being broadcast on June 22, 1969. The song eventually found its way onto the 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 Bobby Parker's 1961 song "Watch Your Step" which charted in the US and the UK. It is also very 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 a variation on the 1929 blues recording "The Girl I Love She Got Long Curley Hair" by Sleepy John Estes. The lyrics in the rest of the song are paraphrases of various blues songs or themes.
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart[1] | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 Chart[2] | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[3] | 49 |