- Jan 1 Bryan Harvey, American musician (House of Freaks), dies at 49
- Jan 6 Lou Rawls, American soul singer-songwriter and producer ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"), dies of cancer at 72
- Jan 8 Otis Clay, American gospel, soul, and R&B-singer ("That's How It Is (When You're In Love)"), dies at 73
Wilson Pickett (1941-2006)
Jan 19 American R&B singer ("In The Midnight Hour"; "Funky Broadway"), dies of a heart attack at 64
- Jan 22 Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboardist (Ekseption), and composer, dies from complications of a stroke at 59
- Jan 24 Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers and actor (The Five Heartbeats), dies of pneumonia and complications from a stroke at 91
- Jan 27 Gene McFadden, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead - "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"), dies of lung cancer at 56 [1]
- Jan 27 Jan Frank Fischer, Czech composer, dies at 84
- Jan 27 Roger Durham Hannay, American composer and teacher, dies at 75
- Jan 29 Nam June Paik, Korean avant-garde composer, and video artist (Medium is the Medium; hommage à john cage), dies at 73
- Jan 31 Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina, dies at 80
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers