James McCartney (the son of Paul McCartney), has a new song out called “Primrose Hill” – which is currently making waves, because even though it’s been released solely under his name, he co-wrote it with Sean Ono Lennon (the son of John Lennon).

Could this be a first step towards a new Lennon-McCartney partnership, or a second version of The Beatles? Probably not – though I wouldn’t be surprised if they do collaborate again sometime in the future. While I assume their decision to come together on this song was organic, if it was a marketing gimmick, it seems to have worked brilliantly, as the news of their joint-effort is being spread far and wide.

In fact, while I was previously familiar with his name, I can’t say that I knew James McCartney even made his own music prior to this release (as opposed to Sean & Julian Lennon). Then again, after looking over his career to date, it doesn’t appear that he’s necessarily sought the same level of fame as some of his family members.

For anyone who’s curious, Primrose Hill is the name of a public park (and its surrounding district) in London.

Anyway, it’s a pretty solid track. Check it out below, if you haven’t already had a listen:

In 1998, Pearl Jam released their cover version of “Last Kiss” (the original was from Wayne Cochran in 1961) – which somewhat surprisingly became their highest charting track to date.

I understood the appeal. The song was one that I had heard on Oldies radio from time to time growing up, and it had firmly planted itself in my own mind. Partly, this was due to the story-telling style of the song and partly, it may have been due to the intensity of the imagery conjured up by the lyrics. (The catchy chorus and popular chord progression likely deserve some of the credit as well.)

Years later, I was a little disappointed when I learned that Eddie Vedder had found the song by chance at a used record store (I had preferred to think it was an old favorite of his) – but I can hardly hold that against him. He clearly has good taste, and we can’t all be familiar with every song.

When I think of what I would like to accomplish with this website, it’s somewhat like that used record store. Some of the older generations that first experienced these songs are beginning to pass on – and many young people are unaware of songs outside of today’s popular music. I sit between these generations, but there are plenty of great, yet older songs that people my age are not necessarily familiar with either – and some wonderful songs simply never got their due.

Even worse, today’s “Oldies” radio has moved on, and rarely plays anything prior to the 80’s (at least in my market) – which means that so many classic songs from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s are far less likely to be heard and enjoyed by new listeners.

So, this website is something like that used record store (even if more curated) – preserving a collection of some of the greatest songs ever made, so that they may be discovered and appreciated by music lovers everywhere – whether it’s an old favorite, or one you’re hearing for the very first time.