Since You Been Gone

"Since You Been Gone" was written and originally recorded by the guitarist Russ Ballard, who included it on his 1975 Winning album. In an interview with Songfacts, Ballard said he wrote the song for himself, but the best-known version was recorded by Rainbow for their 1979 Down To Earth album, with Graham Bonnet on vocals and Ritchie Blackmore on guitar. It was produced by Roger Glover of Deep Purple. Released as the first single from the album, it became one of Rainbow's most popular songs, reaching #6 in the UK and #57 in America, where it hung around on Classic Rock playlists.

The upbeat melody belies the heartache in this song, as the singer is losing his mind now that his girl has left him. He can't stop thinking about her, reading her breakup letter under the streetlight and wishing for her return.

The Illinois rock band Head East was the first to chart with this song, taking it to #46 US in 1978 (it was the band's biggest hit). In 1979, Cherie & Marie Currie took the song to #95 US. Their version, with the gender flipped, was issued with the grammatically correct title "Since You've Been Gone." This was the only chart appearance for the twin sister duo, who formed after Cherie Currie left The Runaways.