in the mid-60s, jan howard was not acquiring any significant hits. only one of her songs hit the top 20, which was in 1960 with, "the one you slip around with", which hit no. 13. in 1966, howard wrote and released her first single of the year, "evil on your mind". the song was written by howard, and talked of her troubled marriage to legendary singer-songwriter, harlan howard. the song hit the top 5 on the billboard country music charts, peaking at no. 5 there. soon an album of the same name was released that year, featuring howard's big hit. a follow-up single was released that titled, "bad seed" which hit the top 10 that year, proving a successful follow-up for howard. the song set the stage for a number of top 20 and top 10 hits howard would have as a solo and duet artist between 1966 and 1971.