- Jan 1 Hugh Davies, English composer, dies at 61
- Jan 1 Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson, Icelandic pianist and avant-garde composer, dies at 79
- Jan 5 Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors), dies of lung cancer at 50
- Jan 8 Warren Spears, American choreographer and dancer
- Jan 10 Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
- Jan 11 Jimmy Griffin, American pop singer, guitarist and songwriter, (Bread), and Academy Award winner ("For All We Know"), dies of cancer at 61
- Jan 11 Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (b. 1913)
- Jan 11 Spencer Dryden, American drummer (Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit"; New Riders of the Purple Sage), dies of colon cancer at 66
- Jan 13 Nell Rankin, American operatic mezzo-soprano (Carmen; Metropolitan Opera, 1951-76), dies at 81
- Jan 15 Ruth Warrick, American actress (Citizen Kane; All My Children), and singer, dies of complications from pneumonia at 88
- Jan 15 Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan operatic lyric soprano, dies at 81
- Jan 22 Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican songwriter, dies at 88
- Jan 24 June Bronhill, Australian stage and opera singer, dies at 75
- Jan 24 Robert Stevens Baker, American organist, composer, and educator (Union Theological Seminary, 1961-72; Institute of Sacred Music at Yale, 1973-75), dies at 88
- Jan 25 Ray Peterson, American singer (Tell Laura I Love Her), dies at 65
- Jan 28 Jim Capaldi, British drummer, singer, and songwriter (Traffic - "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"), dies of stomach cancer at 60
- Jan 29 Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen), dies of cancer at 64
- Jan 29 Yutaka Makino, Japanese composer, dies at 74
- Jan 30 Martyn Bennett [-Knight], Canadian-Scottish celtic-fusion piper, pianist, and composer, dies of cancer at 33
- Jan 30 Wes Wehmiller, American touring and session bass guitarist (Duran Duran; Missing Persons), dies of thyroid cancer at 33
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers