Press Release FeedGet the RSS feed
Menu

PR.com

77-Year-Old Signs Major Recording and Songwriting Deal

At 77, Garrison Leykam is beginning a new chapter as a recording artist and songwriter. The creator of Senior Rock—The Soundtrack for Getting Older has signed recording and songwriting agreements with Verdict Music, a Massachusetts-based independent music label and publisher with worldwide distribution through SONY Music. The label plans to release his original song, “Merry Christmas, My Boy,” for the 2026 holiday season.

“At 77, I’m still writing, still learning and still finding stories to tell. I hope this encourages someone who has quietly put a dream aside to give it another chance,” said Leykam.

The agreements follow a creative journey that began with a simple question: rock and roll told the stories of a generation when it was young—but who is telling its stories now?

Leykam’s answer was Senior Rock: new songs about independence, relationships, technology, recovery and purpose. “Knee Replacement Blues” draws humor and hope from his own surgery and rehabilitation. “Still Got Miles to Go” celebrates determination, while “No Regrets” explores finding peace with the life one has lived.

That storytelling has since expanded across generations. His newer compositions explore first love that lasts a lifetime, the environment, and a young adult’s fear of falling behind. These broader themes helped bring Leykam and Verdict Music together.

“Senior Rock started with the experiences of my generation, but the stories kept growing,” Leykam said. “Love, uncertainty, loss, hope - those things connect us at every age.”

“Merry Christmas, My Boy” emerged after a conversation with Verdict Music’s Steve Berger and Vivian about subjects Leykam might explore. Two suggestions—war and Christmas—stayed with him. He spent the night bringing them together through the story of a father grieving his nineteen-year-old son.

The family decorates the tree, opens presents and preserves Christmas traditions for the grandchildren. Beneath those familiar activities, the father quietly speaks to the son who cannot be there. The chorus ends with a question: “Merry Christmas, my boy—what was it all for?”

The fictional story holds the warmth of a family Christmas alongside the loneliness of grief, especially after the visitors leave.

“I wanted to keep the song close to this father,” Leykam said. “He wants the children to have Christmas. He wants to be there for his family. But he also wants his boy back lost in a war he can't understand.”

Senior Rock has already found audiences through television and healthcare. NBC Connecticut featured Leykam and the project on CT Live in September. Christopher Carlin, a Hartford HealthCare executive and president of the National Association of Rehabilitation Providers and Agencies, incorporated “Knee Replacement Blues” and Leykam’s patient story into his opening presentation at the organization’s national conference.

Carlin reported enthusiastic feedback and questions about sharing the song more broadly. Hartford HealthCare has also invited Leykam to share his story and music at a rehabilitation celebration on November 6.

The Verdict Music agreements create another opportunity for Leykam to reach listeners, both as a recording artist and through songs that other artists can record.

For Leykam, the milestone carries a message beyond the music business.

“There are people with something they still want to do—a song to write, a business to start, a skill to learn,” he said. “I hope my story gives them a reason to take that next step.”

Release details for “Merry Christmas, My Boy” will be announced by Verdict Music.

About Garrison Leykam Garrison Leykam is a songwriter, author, career coach and co-creator of Geezers, Gadgets and Gizmos, based in West Hartford, Connecticut. He created Senior Rock—The Soundtrack for Getting Older to tell contemporary stories about aging through original rock, blues, country and Americana music. His broader songwriting explores family, relationships, loss and the experiences that connect generations. His background includes ten years at London Records in production, engineering, A&R and recording studio operations.

Music and background: https://geezersgadgetsandgizmos.com/senior-rock-the-soundtrack-for-getting-older/

NBC Connecticut CT Live interview: https://youtu.be/AYawpBp9uDg

  1. Edward Lynch Founder of The Lynch Consultants Group LLC Appointed to City of Boca Raton Advisory BoardEdward Lynch, longtime city resident and local business leader, has been appointed to the Boca Raton Citizens Pedestrian and Bikeway Advisory Board. [PR.com]
  2. HealthcarePennington Biomedical Researchers Examine Low Testosterone Screening Rates Among U.S. Army PersonnelStudy published in JAMA estimates that about 1 in 4 active-duty male soldiers has a single morning testosterone measurement below a commonly used clinical threshold [PR.com]
  3. IndustrialBenchmark International Successfully Facilitated the Transaction Between Streamline Avionics, Inc. and Aero1 GroupStreamline Avionics manufactures electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters and capacitors specialized for aerospace and industrial applications. The Company supplies electronic components for commercial and military aircraft and heavy industrial equipment across a range of critical applications. The company is a registered commercial and government entity (CAGE) supplier with AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 quality management [PR.com]
  4. SaaSAAEON Expands UP Brand Portfolio with New UP Display Kit to Meet Edge Computing and HMI NeedsAAEON’s first UP-branded display system delivers fanless edge computing, industrial connectivity, and a 15.6-inch multi-touch interface in one compact platform. [PR.com]
  5. SaaSLarry Traxler Joins Modern Design Platform as a Board Director and Chair, Hospitality StrategyPreviously Hilton’s SVP Global Head of Architecture & Design, Traxler worked across new construction, renovation, conversion and lifestyle development. During his tenure, Hilton grew from roughly 3,000 hotels to nearly 10,000, and from 8 brands to more than 24, with nine launched in-house. MDP addresses fragmentation in hotel furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E): the gap between early design decisions and the [PR.com]
  6. NuuVive Peptides Study Finds 1 in 7 Online Peptide Lab Reports Gives Buyers No Way to Check It With the LabA NuuVive Peptides study of 13,923 lab reports posted by 129 online peptide stores finds that a third have no link to the lab's own record, about 1 in 7 gives buyers no way to check it with the lab at all, and the typical report is five months old. [PR.com]