- Jan 5 Dal Richards, Canadian musician, bandmaster and composer (discovered Michael Bublé), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2015) [1]
- Jan 6 Buddy Weed, American pianist (Penthouse Party), born in Ossining, New York (d. 1997)
- Jan 9 Betty Roché [Mary Elizabeth Roach], American jazz singer (Duke Ellington - "Take The 'A' Train"), born in Wilmington, Delaware (d. 1999)
- Jan 11 Albert Weisser, American musicologist and composer, born in New York City (d. 1982)
- Jan 13 Lester Sill, American pioneer music publisher (Leiber and Stoller; Lee Hazlewood), and record label executive (Philles Records; Colpix; Colgems), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1994)
- Jan 20 Esquivel! [Juan García Esquivel], Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader known as the "King of Space-Age Pop", born in Tampico, Mexico (d. 2002)
- Jan 21 Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist (Zagreb Soloists), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1989)
- Jan 24 Gottfried von Einem, Austrian composer (Dantons Tod), born in Bern, Switzerland (d. 1996)
- Jan 27 (Lyle) "Skitch" Henderson, British-American pianist and orchestra leader (NBC Radio; NBC Television; New York Pops), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2005)
- Jan 27 Elmore James, American blues slide guitarist (Dust My Broom), born in Richland, Mississippi (d. 1963)
About January 1918
How Old? 106 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers