Events in Music
- Jan 8 "Make Mine Manhattan" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 429 performances
- Jan 8 "My Romance" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 95 performances
- Jan 8 "Small Wonder" closes at Coronet Theater NYC after 134 performances
- Jan 13 "Along 5th Avenue" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 180 performances
- Jan 16 "Rape of Lucretia" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 23 performances
- Jan 22 "All for Love" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 121 performances
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 1 Daniel E Gawthrop, American composer
- Jan 2 Michael "Chick" Churchill, British blues-rock keyboardist (Ten Years After - "I'm Going Home"), born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England
- Jan 5 George Brown, American rock drummer (Kool & the Gang-Celebration), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Jan 6 Chris Laurence, British classical, jazz and session double bassist, born in London
- Jan 7 Marshall Chapman, American country singer, born in Spartanburg, South Carolina
- Jan 11 Tom Netherton, singer (Lawrence Welk Show), born in Munich. Germany
- Jan 11 [Frederick] Dennis Greene, American singer (Sha Na Na), born in New York, (d. 2015)
- Jan 11 Daryl Braithwaite, Australian pop singer (Sherbert), born in Melbourne
- Jan 12 Wayne Wang, American film director (Chan is Missing, Slamdance), born in Hong Kong
- Jan 12 Kentaro Haneda, Japanese composer, born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2007)
- Jan 13 Frank Ricotti, British jazz and session vibraphonist and percussionist, born in London, England
- Jan 14 Lamar Williams, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band), born in Gulfport, Mississippi (d. 1983)
- Jan 14 Maurice T. "Maury" Muehleisen, American musician and songwriter (Jim Croce), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 1973)
- Jan 17 Billy T. James [William James Te Wehi Taitoko], New Zealand Maori comedian and singer (The Billy T. James Show), born in Cambridge, New Zealand (d. 1991)
- Jan 18 Christian Blackshaw, British concert pianist, born in Cheshire, England
- Jan 19 Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter (Power Station), born in Batley, United Kingdom (d. 2003)
- Jan 22 James "J.P." Pennington, American country-pop singer and guitarist (Exile), born in Berea, Kentucky
- Jan 22 Steve Perry, American rock vocalist (Journey, 1977-87; 95-97 - "Don't Stop Believin'"; "Open Arms"), born in Hanford, California
- Jan 22 Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, American drummer (E Street Band, 1972-74), born in Neptune, New Jersey
- Jan 24 John Belushi, American comedian & actor (SNL: Animal House: Blues Brothers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
- Jan 26 Derek Holt, British rock guitarist (Curved Air; Climax Blues Band - "Couldn't Get It Right"), born in Stafford, England
- Jan 28 Gene McFadden, American singer, songwriter, and record producer (Philadelphia International Records; McFadden & Whitehead - "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"), born in Olanta, South Carolina (d. 2006) [1]
- Jan 28 Eddie Bayers, American session drummer, based in Nashville, born in Patuxent, Maryland
- Jan 29 Tommy Ramone [Tamás Erdélyi], Hungarian-American rock drummer and bassist (Ramones), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2014)
Deaths in Music
- Jan 9 Amilcare Zanella, Italian composer and conductor, dies at 75
- Jan 14 Joaquín Turina, Spanish pianist and composer (Rima), dies at 66
- Jan 25 Emil Axman, Czech composer, dies at 61
- Jan 27 Boris Asafiev, composer, dies at 64
- Jan 28 Gustaf Lazarus Nordqvist, Swedish organist and composer, dies at 62