There's Trouble Brewin'

I'd be willing to hazard a guess that few people who listen to music today could tell you who Jack Scott was. A rockabilly star in the late fifties and early sixties, he doesn't even merit a mention in the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll. I can't say that I'm that familiar with his body of work myself; in fact, I've only heard two of his songs. The first, "Goodbye Baby," was featured on the soundtrack of the great movie Diner. The second, "There's Trouble Brewin'," was featured on a Time-Life Christmas collection that I received as a bonus for subscribing to Time-Life's History of Rock and Roll series back in the late eighties. I loved the song upon first listen, and I still think it's one of the handful of great rock 'n roll Christmas songs ever written. It goes something like this:

'Twas the night before Christmas

When all through the house

Not a creature was stirring

Not even a mouse

My baby came home

I asked her where she was

She grinned and said that she was out

With Ol' Santa Claus

Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, you can listen to this one yourself, courtesy of Aquarium Drunkard. Speaking of which, I want to tout that site, as well as the one where the drunkard found the song, Big Rock Candy Mountain. There are many, many great obscure holiday songs (as well as other great stuff) to be found on both sites.