[2026 Edition] Songs Loved by People in Their 60s: Classic Hits from Their Youth
For people now in their 60s, their youth was around the 1970s, right?
The music you listened to in your teens and twenties still resonates in your heart today, wrapped in memories.
In this article, we’ve compiled songs that colored the youth of those in their 60s—classics from the era when many Showa pop and folk masterpieces were born.
We hope it helps you reminisce alongside your memories of those days, and also serves as a guide for choosing karaoke songs to enjoy with your peers.
Of course, it’s also recommended for younger generations interested in Showa-era music!
- Good songs recommended for people in their 60s: classic and popular Japanese tracks
- Popularity Ranking of Songs by Generation: 60s [2026]
- [Recommended for people in their 70s] Classic nostalgic hits: A collection of youth songs
- Recommended for women in their 60s! Easy-to-sing Japanese karaoke songs
- Coming-of-age songs for your 50s: heart-thumping × heartwarming classics and popular tracks [2026]
- Popular Japanese songs among men in their 60s: recommended masterpieces and classic tracks
- [60s] Karaoke Popularity Rankings by Generation [2026]
- Recommended for women in their 60s! Songs that get the crowd going at karaoke
- Love songs that resonate with women in their 60s: gem-like romance tunes that revive memories of youth.
- [For People in Their 60s] Ranking of Easy-to-Sing Karaoke Songs [2026]
- [Ages 60s] Popular Japanese Music / J-POP Rankings [By Generation]
- A love song that makes a man in his sixties relive his youth. Timeless classics that rekindle the romances of those days.
- Spring songs for people in their 60s: A collection of classic tracks about cherry blossoms and farewells
[2026 Edition] Songs Loved by People in Their 60s: Classic Hits from Their Youth (21–30)
17 years oldMinami Saori
She made a striking debut with this song and won the Best New Artist Award at the 1971 Japan Record Awards.
Composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi, it was a fresh-sounding track for the time, blending kayōkyoku and pop.
Its style matched her exotic, sun-kissed, and cute image, and her popularity soared in no time.
She later shocked the public by marrying photographer Kishin Shinoyama.
The song is also famous for being covered by Chisato Moritaka in 1989, which led to a major resurgence.
Please give me wingsakai tori
Even if you’re not in your 60s, many people know “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” (“Please Give Me Wings”).
It was released in 1971 by Akaitori, a folk band active from 1969 to 1974, and later became a choral piece sung at elementary and junior high schools nationwide.
If you’re from a younger generation and aren’t sure what to sing when you go to karaoke with someone in their 60s, try adding this song—you can enjoy it together.
If you’ve never heard the original, take this opportunity to give it a listen!
[2026 Edition] Songs Loved by People in Their 60s: Classic Hits from Their Youth (31–40)
Slave of LoveOkumura Chiyo
Released in 1969, this song by Chiyo Okumura features lyrics by Rei Nakanishi and music by Kunihiko Suzuki, and became a hit thanks to Okumura’s coquettish aura and singing style.
Although it was selected for the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, she had to perform a different song because the lyrics were considered provocative at the time.
Okumura herself later said, “It was so innovative that it was hard for me back then.”
the first strong spring windkyandīzu
Released in March 1976, Candies’ “Haru Ichiban” is still loved by many.
Its charm lies in a melody that heightens positive feelings along with a fresh sense of the season.
It became such a hit that it ranked 21st on the Oricon year-end chart, and by the time of their farewell concert, total sales had reached nearly 490,000 copies.
It’s truly a song that vividly colored many people’s youth.
Riding on the spring breeze, the catchy chorus that hints at the start of a new romance brings back that fluttering excitement no matter when you listen to it.
The Begin of Twilightchiaki naomi
This song was originally included on the B-side of Hiroshi Mizuhara’s single released in 1959.
Although the lyrics were by Rokusūke Ei and the music by Hachidai Nakamura, it wasn’t much of a hit at the time.
However, after Naomi Chiaki chose it as a cover, it gradually began to be covered by various artists and started to become a hit, and today it’s a song known across a wide range of generations.
era; age; time; periodNakajima Miyuki
This song, which won the Grand Prix at Yamaha’s 10th Popular Song Contest (Tsumagoi Finals) in 1975 and was released as a single, is a masterpiece whose vocals and lyrics truly resonate, and it can be considered one of her signature works.
Featured in music textbooks and selected in 2007 for the “100 Best Japanese Songs,” it has long been deeply loved by the public.
It’s a heartwarming song—especially the chorus—that makes you want to link arms and sing together.
Samba of PartingHasegawa Kiyoshi
This was the debut song of blind singer-songwriter Kiyoshi Hasegawa.
Although it initially received little attention upon release, once it began airing on late-night radio it gained support from the folk generation of young listeners and became a major hit.
It’s a classic that lets you enjoy its Latin-tinged feel and Hasegawa’s exceptional guitar technique.