Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing
| "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Chris Isaak | ||||
| from the album Forever Blue | ||||
| Released | 1996 (original single) 1999 (remix) |
|||
| Genre | Rock'n'roll, rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Chris Isaak | |||
| Producer(s) | Erik Jacobsen | |||
| Chris Isaak singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" is a song by American rock and roll artist Chris Isaak, released as the first track to the 1995 album Forever Blue. Filled with sensuality and erotic imagery, the song was described by Isaak as a declaration to "somebody who is so evil and twisted and bad, and yet, you still want them”. The title evokes how "That’s a bad bad thing" is used by both parents scolding misbehaving children and adults during sexual intercourse.[1]
Similar to how Isaak's "Wicked Game" only became a success following its inclusion in Wild at Heart (1990), the song got most of its mainstream recognition after being featured in the 1999 Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Kubrick heard the song as Kidman listened to Isaak's music to liven up during rehearsals.[2] Isaak was asked for his approval as he prepared to perform on The Tonight Show, and immediately agreed once he was told it was for Kubrick,[1] who Isaak declared "hasn't done a film I didn't like". The singer said he always considered "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" ripe for soundtracks due to being "kind of a strange piece of work, with a really driving beat and a manic energy that I thought would probably work well for some visuals".[3] David Kahne remixed the track for the Eyes Wide Shut trailers and television spots, and the redone version was released as a radio single on June 22, 1999.[4] Isaak has approved of the remix, feeling it was "more rocking and everything sounds louder".[3]
It peaked at #9 in September 1999 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, although it was only #27 when it was originally released in 1996.[5] In the United States, the 1999 reissue reached 29 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart.[6]
The song was also used at the beginning of the Cold Case episode "Dog Day Afternoons", as well as the end of the CSI: Miami episode "Curse Of The Coffin". It was also used in the trailer for the film Sorority Row.
Music video
The music video of the song was commissioned after its inclusion on Eyes Wide Shut, and directed by Herb Ritts, who also did the video for Isaak's "Wicked Game". It features French model Laetitia Casta videotaped in a motel room gyrating sexually being watched by Isaak. Casta was dressed in lingerie and wore a black wig throughout the video. In July 1999, VH1 aired two versions of the music video, the censored version was played before 9 p.m. and the uncensored version was played after 9 p.m. The video was initially regarded as too steamy by the network.[7] The video was ranked #28 on VH1's 50 Sexiest Video Moments.
