''Jan Howard Sings Evil on Your Mind'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist,

Jan Howard Jan Howard (born Lula Grace Johnson; March 13, 1929 – March 28, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. As a singer, she placed 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart, was a Grand Ole Opry member and was nomin ...

. It was released in July 1966 via

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and contained 12 tracks. It was the second studio album of Howard's music career and her first with the Decca label. The disc combined new recordings with cover tunes. Among its songs was the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may al ...

, which was one of the four

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

included on the album. It became top five single on the American country chart in 1966 while the album itself reached the top ten of the American country albums chart around the same time.

Background, recording and content

Jan Howard had her first commercial success with 1960's "

The One You Slip Around With "The One You Slip Around With" is a single by American country music artist Jan Howard. Released in October 1959, the song reached #13 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart, becoming Howard's first major hit single. The single was later ...

". The song rose to the top 15 of the country charts and was recorded through Challenge Records. She then recorded briefly for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

but failed to have success. She then moved to

where she would have her greatest commercial success. Howard's Decca producer,

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...

, found it difficult to market her. Realizing that she could not be molded into the musical style of her Decca label mates (

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

and

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

), Bradley began finding songs that gave her more individuality. Then, Bradley and Howard found a song that would help make her mold together her second studio album called "Evil on Your Mind". The song was penned by Jan's husband (and Nashville songwriter),

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

. Along with several other songs Bradley found, they would comprise her second album. ''Jan Howard Sings Evil on Your Mind'' was recorded at the Columbia Studio (located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

) in sessions held between September 1964 and May 1966. Owen Bradley produced all of the album's recording sessions. The disc contained a total of 12 tracks. Along with the title track, four songs were composed by Harlan Howard for the project: "What Makes a Man Wander", "You Don't Find a Good Man Everyday" and "You Really Know". One song penned by Jan herself was also included called "Crying for Love". Also included was a cover of Bill Phillips's top ten country single, "

Put It Off Until Tomorrow "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" is a song written by Dolly Parton and Bill Owens, and first recorded by American country music artist Bill Phillips. It was released in January 1966, and Phillips released an album of the same name later that year. Th ...

" and

Gale Garnett Gale Zoë Garnett (born 17 July 1942) is a New Zealand–born Canadian singer best known in the United States for her self-penned, Grammy-winning folk hit "We'll Sing in the Sunshine". Garnett has since carved out a career as an author and actr ...

's top ten pop single, "

We'll Sing in the Sunshine "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" is a 1964 hit song written and recorded by Gale Garnett which reached No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week ending 17 October 1964. It also enjoyed success on easy listening a ...

Release, chart performance and singles

''Jan Howard Sings Evil on Your Mind'' was released in July 1966 on

. It was Howard's first full-length album released on the label and the second released in her recording career. It was originally issued as a

vinyl LP The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

, containing six songs on either side of the record. That year, the record peaked at number ten on the ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

chart, becoming her very first album to peak within any ''Billboard'' record chart. Of its four singles included, its most commercially-successful was the title track. It was originally released by Decca in April 1966. The song climbed to the number five position on the American ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

in 1966, becoming her highest-peaking solo single in her career. Three other singles were also included on the album that were previously released. The earliest single released was "What Makes a Man Wander", which was first issued by Decca in October 1964. It was the only other single included on the album that made the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart, climbing to number 25 in late 1964. A second single included on the disc was "I've Got Feelings Too", which was first issued in May 1965. A third single included on the album was "You Don't Find a Good Man Everyday". It was first released in October 1965.

Track listing

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''Jan Howard Sings Evil on Your Mind''. Musical and technical personnel *

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Owen Bradley – producer *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988), was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anderson' ...

–

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitar player and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His f ...

– guitar *

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Jan Howard – lead vocals *

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

– background vocals *

Grady Martin Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' "El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Coal ...

– guitar *

Bob Moore Bob Loyce Moore (November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American session musician, orchestra leader, and double bassist who was a member of the Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 1960s. He performed on over 17,000 documented record ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Hargus Pig Robbins – piano * Pete Wade – guitar

Chart performance

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1966 albums Albums produced by Owen Bradley Decca Records albums Jan Howard albums