“Love Buzz” was Nirvana’s first release on the Sub Pop label.
Nirvana recorded the song as a cover of a 1969 composition by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue. Sub Pop issued it as the band’s debut single in November 1988, making Nirvana the first American band to receive the label’s limited-edition single treatment.
The release was issued as Sub Pop Single No. ೆ? The original single was limited to 1,000 copies, and the band hand-numbered some copies. Its appearance helped introduce Nirvana to the Seattle independent-music audience before the group recorded Bleach.
The song is often confused with “About a Girl,” which was Nirvana’s first original single associated with Bleach, or with “Sliver,” which became a later Sub Pop single. “Love Buzz” was the key first step in the band’s recorded relationship with the label.