Events in Music
- Jan 4 Billboard magazine publishes its 1st music hit parade
Event of Interest
Jan 9 Noël Coward's "Astonished Heart" premieres in London
Noël Coward
Music Recording
Jan 24 Benny Goodman and orchestra record "Stompin' at the Savoy" on Victor Records
Benny Goodman
Event of Interest
Jan 26 Joseph Stalin views Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth" but he and his officials leave early and the play is denounced in state press
Joseph Stalin
Dmitri Shostakovich
Event of Interest
Jan 28 Pravda criticizes Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"
Dmitri Shostakovich
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 1 Eve Queler, American conductor, born in NYC, New York
Roger Miller
Jan 2 Roger Miller, American country singer-songwriter ("King of the Road"; "Dang Me"), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 1992)
Roger Miller
- Jan 2 Paul Freeman, American conductor and composer (Chicago Sinfonietta, 1987 -2011; Czech National Symphony, 1996-2007), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 2015)
- Jan 3 Jos Kunst, Dutch composer, born in Roermond, Netherlands (d. 1996)
- Jan 6 Ebo Taylor, Ghanaian musician and composer (highlife, afrobeat), born in Cape Coast, Gold Coast
- Jan 7 Eldee Young, American jazz upright bassist (Ramsey Lewis Trio; Young-Holt Unlimited - "Soulful Strut"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2007)
- Jan 7 Richard Podolor, American session guitarist, sound engineer and, record producer (Three Dog Night; Steppenwolf), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 8 Zdeněk Mácal, Czech conductor, born in Bmo, Czech Republic
- Jan 9 Peter Fletcher, British orchestral and choral conductor, and music teacher (d. 1999)
- Jan 11 Katie Webster [Kathyrne Jewel Thorne], American boogie pianist (The Swamp Boogie Queen), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1999)
- Jan 13 Ami Maayani, Israeli composer and conductor, born in Ramat Gan, Israel
- Jan 13 Renato Bruson, Italian operatic baritone
- Jan 14 Clarence Carter, American blues singer-songwriter ("Patches"), born in Montgomery, Alabama
- Jan 19 Elliott Schwartz, composer, born in New York City
- Jan 20 Luther Tucker, American blues guitarist, born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1983)
- Jan 24 Daniel Goode, American composer, born in New York
- Jan 24 Jack Scott, Canadian rock and roll singer-songwriter (My True Love), born in Windsor, Ontario (d. 2019)
- Jan 28 Robert Suderburg, American pianist, composer, and conductor, born in Spencer, Iowa (d. 2013)
- Jan 29 Malcolm Binns, concert pianist
- Jan 29 James Jamerson, American session pop and R&B bass guitarist (Motown Records), born in Edisto, South Carolina (d. 1983)
- Jan 31 Marvin Junior, American R&B baritone singer (The Dells - "Oh What a Nite"), born in Harold, Arkansas (d. 2013)