Oldest person to release a debut solo album (female)

The oldest person to release a debut album (female) is nagauta shamisen player Kyosen Kineya (Japan, b. Sachiko Ishihara, 15 November 1914), who released 105: The world of Kangoro V and his art of “Nagauta”, inherited by his daughter on 24 April 2019, aged 104 years 160 days old. Recorded in Tokyo towards the end of 2018 and published by Sony Music Direct, the album features four songs – “Lowly Hem Ring”, “Spring and Autumn”, “Tama River” and “Kusunoki” – of the 300 or more composed by Kyosen’s father, Kineya Kangoro V, a renowned exponent of the nagauta shamisen – a thin-necked, three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument akin to a lute, played with wooden sticks (bachi). Kyosen, whose father passed away when she was a toddler, has taught nagauta to schoolchildren since the age of about 14 and remained a regular music tutor and concert performer at the time of the album’s release, keeping her family’s tradition alive. She described the recording process as “a good learning experience”.

Kyosen, now a supercentenarian, was aged 110 years 95 days as of 18 February 2025 and was the 53rd oldest living person in Japan. She currently resides in Odawara, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The oldest male to release their debut album is jazz musician Marshall Allen (USA, b. 25 May 1924), who released New Dawn on 14 February 2025 at the age of 100 years 265 days.