Written by the Miracles' members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, the song was a top 20 pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, on which it peaked at number 17.

[3] Longing and melancholy, "Since I Lost My Baby" tells a story about the pain of losing a lover.

Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, portrays the song's narrator, bass singer Melvin Franklin is also heard out front after each of Ruffin's first two lines on the first verse.

Cash Box described it as a "tender, slow-shufflin’ pop-r&b tearjerker about a lad who has been singing the blues since his romance went kaput.

In 1983, Vandross' cover was a top twenty R&B hit, peaking to #17 on Billboards Hot R&B Singles chart.