31 Days of Halloween Hits: "Bad Things" by Jace Everett

by Julian Spivey
As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! 
 
That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. 

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Photo: Epic Nashville

There’s a good chance you’ve never even heard the name Jace Everett. He’s never had a top 40 hit as an artist – though he did co-write Josh Turner’s 2005 smash No. 1 hit “Your Man” (so did current country star Chris Stapleton).
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But if you’re an avid TV viewer or really into vampires you’ve likely heard his song “Bad Things,” as it was chosen as the theme song for HBO’s sexy vampire drama “True Blood” in 2008, three years after failing to chart in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot Country chart. Though, I’ve never seen “True Blood” I imagine “Bad Things” to be the perfect theme for the show because of the sheer sexiness intertwined with a little dark romanticism of Everett’s vocal.

The success of the series led to Everett having some chart success overseas, with the song going all the way to No. 2 in Norway in 2009. “Bad Things” also won Best Scream Song of the Year at the 2009 Scream Awards dedicated to horror, sci-fi and fantasy genres in film and television.

Looking back I don’t know how I heard “Bad Things” when it came out in 2005 considering how little radio airplay it received, but I must have heard it once or twice on a local radio station and liked it enough to remain with me and eventually download it.

Everett’s suavity in his vocals, mixed with a rockabilly sound – especially with the track’s guitar – truly gives it a Chris Isaak vibe. The song is certainly a cousin to Isaak’s 1996 release “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing.”

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