- Jan 1 Claire Polin (Schaff), American contemporary classical, composer flautist, and musicologist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1995)
- Jan 1 Richard Verreau, French-Canadian operatic tenor, born in Château-Richer, Québec (d. 2005)
- Jan 3 Danny Overbea, American rock singer and guitarist ("40 Cups of Coffee"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
George Martin (1926-2016)
Jan 3 British record producer (The Beatles; Jeff Beck; America; The Goon Squad), born in London, England
- Jan 8 Evelyn Lear [Shulman], American soprano, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2012)
- Jan 8 Jani Christou, Greek composer, born in Heliopolis, Egypt (d. 1970)
- Jan 8 Kelucharan Mohapatra, Indian Odissi dancer, born in Raghurajpur, India (d. 2004)
- Jan 9 John "Bucky" Pizzarelli, American jazz guitarist, born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2020)
- Jan 12 Morton Feldman, American composer (For Philip Guston; Rothko Chapel), born in New York City (d. 1987)
- Jan 12 Ray Price, American country music singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("For the Good Times"; "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me"), born in Perryville, Texas (d. 2013)
- Jan 13 Melba Liston, American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1999) [1]
- Jan 17 Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and ballerina (Red Shoes), born in Dunfermline Scotland (d. 2006)
- Jan 18 Bobby Edwards [Moncrief], American country singer-songwriter ("You're The Reason"), born in Anniston, Alabama (d. 2012)
- Jan 20 David Tudor, American composer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- Jan 21 Brian Brockless, English organist and composer, born in London (d. 1995)
- Jan 21 Franco Evangelisti, Italian avant-garde classical and electroacoustic composer, and sound theorist (From Silence to a New Sonorous World), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1980)
- Jan 22 Aurèle Nicolet, Swiss flautist (Berlin Philharmonic), and educator, born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (d. 2016)
- Jan 25 James Erb, American composer, arranger, and musicologist (Shenendoah), born in La Junta, Colorado (d. 2014)
- Jan 26 Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-British classical flautist, broadcaster, composer, and wit, born in Zurndorf, Austria (d. 2003)
- Jan 26 Ronnie Hilton, British radio presenter and singer (Moonraker), born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (d. 2001)
- Jan 30 Lizbeth Webb, English soprano and stage actress, born in Reading, United Kingdom (d. 2013)
About January 1926
How Old? 98 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers