Music can often do more good than medication for seniors, who are battling cognitive decline and mental health issues.
Even when senior citizens songs are not part of a proper, professionally conducted music therapy sessions, their innate ability to lift the spirit and to draw the elderly out of the chasm of lost memories can do a world of good.
Music: Food for soul, workout for the brain and more!
To reap all the benefits mentioned, it is crucial to pick the right kind of music for senior citizens. Let’s not forget that music jogs both the emotional and the memory centers of the brain.
This means that with the right song, you can tap into happy memories and use them to offer much needed reprieve to an anxiety and stress ridden brain.
Because music has an almost magical ability to remind you of events, people and things that have long been forgotten, senior citizen songs help to elicit a response even from those older adults who have lost their memories to Alzheimer’s and dementia.
But the benefits of music and songs are not just limited to the brain! According to one study, the therapeutic effects of songs include:
- Better pain management.
- Improvement in chronic pain.
- Significant reduction in blood pressure.
- Better and faster recovery after a cardiac event (stroke and heart attack).
- Improved sleep quality.
- Better insomnia management.
- Enhanced immune function.
- Notable anti-seizure effects.
- Significantly lower cortisol levels.
- Improvement in chronic inflammation.
Senior citizens songs: Entertainment is just one aspect of it!
The best part is that these songs are a tried and tested form of entertainment; one that works all the time and every time. Plus, you can use them on their own as a form of therapy or couple them with other activities.
From quizzes to games and from singing to dancing, the right list of songs can be combined with all of them and more. However, it can be hard to know about songs that were released while you were still a kid or not even born yet.
So, here is a list of the best songs for older adults by decades, seasons and combined activities to get you started on the right track.
Senior citizens songs for each decade
A. For the nimble ninety year olds (1930-1939)
- Happy days are here again – Ben Selvin
- On the sunny side of the street – Ted Lewis & Band
- Enbraceable You – Red Nichols
- Puttin’ on the Ritz – Harry Richman
- Three little words – Duke Ellington
- Georgia on my mind – Hoagy Carmichael
- Stardust – Isham Jones
- I hot Rhythm – Ethel Waters
- Please – Bing Crosby
- Night & Day – Fred Astaire
- All of me – Louis Armstrong
- In the mood – Glen Miller
- Over the rainbow – Judy garland
- Easy to love – Billie Holiday
- Falling in love again – Marlene Dietrich
- Body and soul – Annette Hanshaw
- Jeepers Creeper – Al Donahue & Orchestra
- I’m in the mood for love – Frances Langford
- Strange fruit – Billie Holiday
- Cheek to cheek – Fred Astaire
B. For the energetic eighty year olds (1940-1949)
- When you wish upon a star – Cliff Richards
- Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – The Andrews Sisters
- In the mood – Glen Miller
- Only forever – Bing Crosby
- You Are My Sunshine – Jimmie Davis
- Tangerine – Jimmy Dorsey & Orchestra
- Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’- Bing Crosby and Trudy Erwin
- To Each His Own – Eddy Howard (1946)
- God bless the child – Billie Holiday
- We Three – The Inkspots
- White Christmas – Bing Crosby
- If I had my way – Kate Smith
- Shoo-shoo baby – The Andrews Sisters
- Till the end of time – Perry Como
- Chickery chick – Sammy Kaye
- It’s magic – Doris Day
- Lovesick Blues – Hank Williams
- Some Enchanted Evening – Ezio Pinza
- Rudolph the red nosed reindeer – Gene Autry
- I’m Beginning to See the Light – Kitty Kallen & Harry James
C. For the zesty seventy year olds (1950-1959)
- Be my love – Mario Lanza
- Because of you – Tony Bennett
- Hound dog – Elvis Presley
- All shook up – Elvis Presley
- Love letters in sand – Pat Boone
- Tammy – Debbie Reynolds
- Chances Are – John Mathis
- Hey there – Rosemary Clooney
- Heartbreak Hotel – Elvis Presley
- Mona Lisa – Nat King Cole
- Autumn Leaves – Roger Williams
- I need you now – Eddie Fisher
- The great pretender – The Platters
- You send me – Sam Cooke
- Jailhouse Rock – Elvis Presley
- Diana – Paul Anka
- Young love – Sonny James
- Little Stars – The Elegants
- All I have to do is dream – The Everly Brothers
- Blue tango – Leroy Anderson
- Little things mean a lot – Kitty Kallen
- Goodnight Irene – Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers
D. For the sprightly sixty year olds (1960-1969)
- I want to hold your hand – The Beatles
- Tossin and Turnin – Bobby Lewis
- Sugar, sugar – The Archies
- The twist – Chuby Checker
- Georgia on my mind – Ray Charles
- Stand by me – Ben King
- Love me do – The Beatles
- Surfin’ safari – The Beach Boys
- Oh’ Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison
- Where did our love go – The Supremes
- You really got me – The Kinks
- Good vibrations – The Beach Boys
- Wild thing – The Troggs
- Piece of my heart – Janis Joplin
- Wonderful world – Louis Armstrong
- Born to be wild – Steppenwolf
- It’s my party – Leslie Gore
- Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
- Sounds of Silence – Simon & Garfunkle
- Respect – Aretha Franklin
- Somebody to love – Jefferson Airplane
- Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
- Baby Love – The Supremes
- My Girl – The Temptations
E. For the fun-loving fifty year olds (the 1970s)
- Joy to the World – Three Dog Night
- Tonight’s the Night – Rod Stewart
- The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand
- Angie – The Rolling Stones
- Born to run – Bruce Springsteen
- Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
- Shadow Dancing – Andy Gibb
- Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees
- Isn’t she lovely – Stevie Wonder
- I will survive – Gloria Gaynor
- I want you to want me – Cheap Trick
- Let’s get it on – Marvin Gaye
- Hotel California – Eagles
- Cecilia – Simon & Garfunkel
- Ain’t no mountain high enough – Diana Ross
- Ladies night – Kool & The Gang
- I’ll be there – Jackson 5
- Jamming – Bob Marley & The Wailers
- Imagine – John Lennon
- Stairway to heaven – Led Zeppelin
- The first time ever I saw your face – Roberta Flack
- How deep is your love – Bee Gees
- M.C.A – Village People
Music for senior citizens by the season!
In the spring:
- Daydream – The Lovin’ Spoonful
- Grazing in the grass – Hugh Masakela
- Morning has broken – Cat Stevens
- It might as well be spring – Frank Sinatra
- April in Paris – Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald
- Some other spring – Billie Holiday, Tony Scott Orchestra
- When it’s springtime in Alaska – Johnny Cash
- You must believe in spring – Barbra Streisand
- Spring is here – Ella Fitzgerald
- When the white lilacs bloom again – Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra
- April love – Pat Boone
- Come rain or come shine – Ray Charles
- Fourty shades of green – Johnny Cash
- Lemon Tree – Trini Lopez
- Don’t let the rain come down – The Serendipity Singers
For summer:
- Good day sunshine – The Beatles
- Summer in the city – The Lovin’ Spoonful
- Summertime blues – Eddie Cochran
- Surfin’ U.S.A. – The Beach Boys
- Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini – Bryan Hyland
- Dancing in the street – Martha & The Vandellas
- Summer nights by Olivia Newton – John and John Travolta
- Can’t wait for summer – Steve Lawrence
- Summertime, Summertime – The Jamies
- Here comes summer – Jerry Keller
- The green leaves of summer – The Brothers Four
- Sealed with a kiss – Brian Hyland
- Those lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer – Nat “King” Cole
- Summer wind – Frank Sinatra
- Hawaii Five-O – The Ventures
- Hot fun in the summertime – Sly and the Family Stone
In fall / autumn:
- Autumn Leaves – Roger Williams
- High School Confidential – Jerry Lee Lewis
- Wonderful World – Sam Cooke
- Blue Autumn – Bobby Goldsboro
- See You In September – The Happenings
- It Was A Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra
- Autumn in New York – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
- Leaves That Are Green – Simon & Garfunkel
- Autumn Almana – The Kinks
- September song – Frank Sinatra
- Autumn Serenade – John Coltrane
- Autumn Changes – Donna Summer
- September – Earth, Wind & Fire
- Harvest moon – Neil Young
For winter:
- Wintertime love – The Doors
- Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! – Dean Martin
- Winter Wonderland – Elvis Presley
- A Hazy Shade of Winter – Simon and Garfunkel
- Sleigh Ride – Ella Fitzgerald
- Frosty the Snowman – Leon Redbone
- Long Long Winter – Bob Marley
- Summer Me, Winter Me – Barbra Streisand
- End of the Season – The Kinks
- Marshmallow World – Bing Crosby
- Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
- A Hazy Shade of Winter – Simon & Garfunkel
- Baby It’s Cold Outside – Dean Martin
- Looks Like a Cold Cold Winter – Bing Crosby
Action songs for elderly
Although this may seem like a puerile activity, action songs and rhymes can be used in a myriad of ways to maintain and improve cognitive health in seniors.
For starters, linking an action to a word itself involves the use of multiple cognitive resources. In addition, because the elderly will use various body parts to enact the words, action songs also help to improve balance, movement, motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Moreover, these simple songs and the actions they call for also help to improve memory and retention. Plus, this is an active form of music therapy, which goes beyond the sense of enjoyment derived from listening to songs.
Since any movement is good for both the body and the brain, these simple action songs can go a long way in increasing self-confidence and keeping depression at bay. So, if you are ready to include action songs for older adults in your seniors’ entertainment session, here are a few choice picks:
- Chicken dance – various artists
- The twist
- Tequila
- Beer barrel polka
- Hokey pokey
- These boots are made for walkin’
- Blue suede shoes
- Ragtime cowboy Joe
- Singing in the rain
Dance songs for senior citizens
- Love me tender – Elvis Presley
- Great balls of fire – Jerry Lee Lewis
- I just called to say I love you – Stevie Wonder
- My funny valentine – Frank Sinatra
- That’s amore – Dean Martin
- Good golly Miss Molly – Little Richard
- Whatever will be will be – Doris Day
- Macarena – Los Del Rio
- Conga – Miami Sound Machine
- Jump In The Line – Harry Belafonte
- Fun, Fun, Fun – The Beach Boys
- Build me up buttercup – The Foundations
- Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
- Dancing in the Street – Martha and the Vandellas
- I Want You Back – Jackson 5
- Twist and shout – The Beatles
- Stop! In the Name of Love – The Supremes
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Music with a sprinkling of humor: Funny songs for senior citizens
- When I’m Sixty Four – The Beatles
- I Ain’t Getting Older, I’m Getting Better – Rufus Thomas
- 200 Year Old Alcoholic – The Clancy Brothers
- People My Age – John Gorka
- When You are Old and Gray – Tom Lehrer
- A Boy Named Sue – Johny Cash
- Arthritis Blues Ramblin’ – Jack Elliott
- Little Brown Jug – Glenn Miller
- All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down) – Hank Williams, Jr.
- Never Wed an Old Man – Pete Seeger
- It’s Hard To Be Humble – Mac Davis