- Jan 3 Charles Camilleri, Maltese composer (Missa Mundi), dies at 77
- Jan 3 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), dies at 81
- Jan 6 Claude Jeter, American gospel music singer (The Swan Silvertones), dies at 94
- Jan 6 Ron Asheton, American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter (The Stooges), dies of an apparent heart attack at 60 [exact date estimated]
- Jan 6 Vivienne Della Chiesa, American lyric soprano who sang on US radio during the 1940s and early 1950s (The American Album of Familiar Music, The Standard Hour), dies at 93
- Jan 9 Dave Dee [Harman], British pop singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich), dies of cancer at 67
- Jan 13 Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer, lyricist, and poet, dies of pneumonia at 83
- Jan 20 David "Fathead" Newman, American jazz saxophonist (Ray Charles - "The Right Time"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 75
- Jan 23 George Perle, American composer (12 Tone Tonality), dies at 93
- Jan 24 Gérard Blanc, French pop singer ("Une Autre Histoire"), dies at 61
- Jan 24 Leonard Gaskin, American jazz bassist (Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis), dies at 88
- Jan 28 Arthur Jenkins, Jr., American jazz and pop session and touring keyboardist, composer, and arranger (Johnny Nash; Harry Belafonte; John Lennon; Roberta Flack), dies at 72
- Jan 28 Billy Powell, American musician and keyboardist (Lynyrd Skynyrd - "That Smell"; "Freebird"), dies at 56
- Jan 29 (Bennie Ross) "Hank" Crawford, American saxophonist, arranger and songwriter (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies of complications from a stroke at 74
- Jan 29 John Martyn [Iain McGeachy], British folk-rock-blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("May You Never"), dies due to acute respiratory distress syndrome at 60
- Jan 31 Dewey Martin, Canadian rock drummer (Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"), dies at 68
- Jan 31 Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers