- Jan 2 Barış Manço, Turkish rock guitarist, singer-songwriter (Kurtalan Ekspres - "Arkadaşım Eşek (My Friend the Donkey"), and television producer (From 7 to 77), born in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey (d. 1999)
- Jan 3 HK Gruber, Austrian double bassist, conductor, and composer (Frankenstein!!), born in Vienna, Austria
- Jan 3 Petras Bingelis, Lithuania conductor, founder and artistic director (Kaunas State Choir, 1969-2020), born in Mardasava, Lithuania (d. 2020)
- Jan 3 Van Dyke Parks, American songwriter, producer, arranger (Song Cycle; Orange Crate Art), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Jan 6 Barry Altschul, American hard bop and free jazz drummer (Paul Bley, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton), born in New York City
- Jan 7 Leona Williams, American country music singer (Ladies Get the Blues), born in Vienna, Missouri
- Jan 7 Richard Armstrong, British conductor, born in Leicester, England
- Jan 8 Lee Jackson, English bass guitarist and singer-songwriter (Nice), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
- Jan 8 Marcus Hutson, American R&B singer (The Whispers - "And the Beat Goes On"; "Rock Steady"), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2000)
- Jan 9 Ariel Bybee, American mezzo-soprano (Morman Tabernacle Choir; Metropolitan Opera, 1977-95), born in Reno, Nevada (d. 2018)
- Jan 9 Dick Yount, American rock bassist and singer (Harpers Bizarre - "Feelin' Groovy"), born in the USA (d. 2019)
- Jan 9 Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer (The Freddie Starr Showcase), born in Huyton, United Kingdom (d. 2019)
- Jan 9 Kenneth "Wally" Kelly, American R&B singer (Manhattans - "Kiss And Say Goodbye"), born in New Jersey (d. 2015)
- Jan 9 Rob Hoeke, Dutch pianist and singer (Drinking on My Bed), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1999)
- Jan 9 Scott Walker [Noel Scott Engel], American-born British singer-songwriter and composer (The Walker Brothers), born in Hamilton, Ohio (d. 2019)
Jim Croce (1943-1973)
Jan 10 American singer-songwriter ("Time in a Bottle"; "Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 11 William Albert Penn, American composer (Living in the Next Great Ice Age; Garland Songs), educator, and record producer, born in Long Branch, New Jersey (d. 2021)
- Jan 13 William Duckworth, American composer (Time Curve Preludes), teacher (Bucknell, 1973-2011), and internet pioneer (PitchWeb), born in Morganton, North Carolina (d. 2012)
- Jan 14 Jose Luis Rodriguez, Venezuelan singer (Dueño de Nada), born in Caracas, Venezuela
- Jan 14 Mariss Jansons, Latvian conductor (Bavarian RSO: 2003-19; Royal Concertgebouw 2004-15), born in Riga, Latvia (d. 2019)
- Jan 16 Brian Ferneyhough, British composer, born in Coventry, England
- Jan 16 Gavin Bryars, English composer, born in Goole, England
- Jan 16 Ronnie Milsap [Millsaps], American country singer ("It Was Almost Like a Song"; "Any Day Now"), born in Robbinsville, North Carolina
- Jan 17 (Ezekiel Christopher) "Chris" Montez, American rock guitarist and singer ("Let's Dance"; "Call Me"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 18 Al Foster, American jazz drummer (Miles Davis, 1973-89; Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner), born in Richmond, Virginia
Janis Joplin (1943-1970)
Jan 19 American rock and blues singer-songwriter ("Piece of My Heart"; "Me and Bobby McGee"; "Mercedes Benz"), born in Port Arthur, Texas
- Jan 20 Farhad [Mehrad], Iranian pop, rock and folk singer-songwriter ("Jomeh"), born in Tehran, Iran (d. 2002)
- Jan 23 Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator, born in Anderson, Indiana
- Jan 25 Leny Andrade, Brazilian samba, bossa nova and jazz singer, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 2023)
- Jan 26 Jean Knight [Caliste], American soul, funk, and R&B singer ("Mr. Big Stuff"), and nurse, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2023) [1]
- Jan 26 Peter Kenton Winkler, American pianist, symphonic and theatrical composer, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 26 Thom Bell, American session musician, arranger and Grammy Award-winning "Philadelphia soul" producer (Delfonics; Stylistics; The Spinners), born in Kingston, Jamaican (d. 2022)
- Jan 28 Brian Keenan, American rock drummer (The Chamber Brothers), born in New York City (d. 1985)
- Jan 28 Dick Taylor, English rock guitarist (The Pretty Things - "S.F. Sorrow"; The Mekons), born in Dartford, England
- Jan 29 Tim Souster, British composer, born in Bletchley, England (d. 1994)
- Jan 30 Sandy Deane [Yaguda], American rock singer (Jay and the Americans - "This Magic Moment"), born in Brooklyn, New York
About January 1943
How Old? 81 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
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