Peak
57
Weeks
8
Score
491
Chart Year
1979
"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. Rainbow's version plays during the trailer for the 2023 Guardians of the Galaxy 3 movie. The MCU film series is renowned for resurrecting classic rock gems.
I get the same old dreams same time every night Fall to the ground and I wake up So I get out of bed, put on my shoes and in my head Thoughts fly back to the breakup These four wall are closing in Look at the fix you put me in Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Could I be wrong But since you been gone You cast your spell so break it Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh Since you been gone So in the night I stand beneath the backstreet light I read the words that you sent to me I can take the afternoon, the night time comes around too soon You can't know what you mean to me Your poison letter, your telegram Just goes to show you don't give a damn Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Could I be wrong But since you been gone You cast your spell so break it Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh Since you been gone If you will come back Baby, you know you'll never do wrong Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Could I be wrong But since you been gone You cast your spell so break it Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh Ever since you been gone Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 17, 1979 | 87 | 39 |
| 2 | Nov 24, 1979 | 79 | 47 |
| 3 | Dec 1, 1979 | 68 | 58 |
| 4 | Dec 8, 1979 | 61 | 65 |
| 5 | Dec 15, 1979 | 58 | 68 |
| 6 | Dec 22, 1979 | 57 | 69 |
| 7 | Dec 29, 1979 | 57 | 69 |
| 8 | Jan 5, 1980 | 94 | 32 |