- Jan 4 John Gary [Strader], American pop and easy listening singer ("Cold"), dies of cancer at 65
Sonny Bono (1935-1998)
Jan 5 American actor, musician, vocalist, (Sonny & Cher) and politician (Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98), dies at Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, when he hits a tree at 62
- Jan 5 Georgi Sviridov, Soviet neoromantic composer, dies of a heart attack at 82
- Jan 5 Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (b. 1943)
- Jan 6 Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), dies of a heart attack at 82
- Jan 7 Owen Bradley, American pop country music record producer (Patsy Cline; Loretta Lynn; Conway Twitty), dies at 82
- Jan 8 Michael Tippett, British conductor and composer (Child of Our Time), dies shortly after suffering a stroke at 93
- Jan 11 Klaus Tennstedt, German conductor (Fidelio), dies at 71
- Jan 12 Edgar Palm, Curaçaoan pianist and composer (Padu), dies at 92
- Jan 12 Peter Jona Korn, German composer, dies at 75
- Jan 13 Mihovil Logar, Serbian composer (A Would-be Lady), dies at 95
- Jan 15 Junior Wells, American blues singer ("In My Younger Days"), dies at 63
- Jan 16 David "Junior" Kimbrough, American blues musician, dies at 67
Carl Perkins (1932-1998)
Jan 19 American rock and rockabilly singer-songwriter ("Blue Suede Shoes"; "Honey Don't"), dies from stroke complications at 65 [1]
- Jan 24 Justin Tubb, American country singer (Grand Ole Opry), dies at 62
- Jan 24 Walter Bishop, Jr, American bebop jazz pianist, music theorist, and educator, dies of a heart attack at 70
- Jan 25 Attila Zoller, Hungarian-American jazz guitarist, educator (Vermont Jazz Center, 1974-98), and inventor (bi-directional pickup), dies at 70
- Jan 26 S. P. Leary, Texan blues drummer (Muddy Waters), dies at 67
- Jan 26 Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese music teacher (Suzuki Method), dies at 99
- Jan 30 Richard Cassilly, American tenor, dies at 70
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers