- Jan 1 Earl Wrightson, American actor and singer (Pinafore, Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1993)
- Jan 3 Antonio Estévez, Venezuelan composer and conductor (Cantata Criolla), born in Calabozo, Guárico, Venezuela (d. 1988)
- Jan 3 Bernard Greenhouse, American cellist (Beaux Arts Trio), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2011)
- Jan 3 Maxene Andrews, American pop and sing jazz singer (The Andrews Sisters - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; "Rum and Coca-Cola"), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1995)
- Jan 4 Lionel Newman, American film music composer (Peyton Place), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1989)
- Jan 6 Philip Bezanson, American composer, born in Athol, Massachusetts (d. 1975)
- Jan 7 Bobo Jenkins [John Pickens Jenkins], American blues singer-songwriter (Democrat Blues), born in Forkland, Alabama (d. 1984)
- Jan 9 Vic Mizzy, American composer (Green Acres and The Addams Family themes), and bandleader, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2009)
- Jan 12 Jay McShann, American jazz pianist and bandleader, born in Muskogee, Oklahoma (d. 2006)
- Jan 12 William Pleeth, British cellist and teacher (of Jacqueline du Pré), born in London, England (d. 1999)
- Jan 13 Bella Lewitsky, American modern dance choreographer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2004)
- Jan 17 Joel Herron, American orchestra leader (Jaye P Morgan Show), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2012)
- Jan 19 Roh Ogura, Japanese composer and writer, born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan (d. 1990)
- Jan 21 (James Woodie) J.W. Alexander, American gospel and soul music songwriter, singer, and producer (Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls, Solomon Burke), born in Hamilton, Mississippi (d. 1996)
- Jan 22 Henri Dutilleux, French composer (Tout un monde lointain, L'arbre des songes), born in Angers, France (d. 2013)
- Jan 26 Lothar Jensch, German medical doctor, and composer, born in Höchst, Germany (d. 2004)
- Jan 28 Peter Crossley-Holland, British composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator (UCLA, 1969-83), born in London, England (d. 2001)
- Jan 29 Kyra Vayne [Knopmuss], English stage and opera soprano, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 2001)
About January 1916
How Old? 108 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: Yes
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers