Events in Music
- Jan 2 Dutch premiere of musical "Hair" in Amsterdam
- Jan 3 "Jimmy" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 84 performances
- Jan 3 Jerry Herman's musical "Mame" closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 1508 performances and 3 Tony Awards
Music Recording
Jan 4 Beatles last recording session at Abbey Road studios, completing George Harrison's tune "I Me Mine"; John Lennon was on vacation and did not participate
Music History
Jan 5 John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono give a press conference in Aalborg, Denmark, revealing that they were only visiting
Woodstock Music and Art Fair
Jan 7 Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages caused by "Woodstock Festival"
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 2 Eric Whitacre, American Grammy Award-winning choral conductor and composer (Lux Aurumque; Deep Field), born in Reno, Nevada
- Jan 2 Robert Fertitta, American operatic countertenor, born in New York City
- Jan 2 Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian pop singer ("I Admit"), born in Târgu Mureș, Transylvania, Romania.
- Jan 5 Jeffrey Jey [Gianfranco Randone], Italian pop and dance singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Eiffel 65), born in Lentini, Italy
- Jan 5 Troy Van Leeuwen, American guitarist (Queens of the Stone Age; Gone Is Gone), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 9 Alex Staropoli, Italian keyboardist (Rhapsody Of Fire), born in Trieste, Italy
- Jan 9 Lara Fabian, Canadian-Belgian singer, born in Etterbeek, Belgium
- Jan 11 Joy Nilo, Filipino pianist, conductor, and composer, chiefly of choral music, born in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines
- Jan 12 Raekwon [Corey Woods], American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Jan 12 Zack de la Rocha, American rock musician (Rage Against the Machine), born in Long Beach, California
- Jan 18 DJ Quik [David Marvin Blake], American rapper (Quik Is the Name), born in Compton, California
- Jan 20 Mitch Benn, English comedian and musician, born in Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Jan 26 Kirk Franklin, American gospel singer, choir director, and 16 time Grammy Award-winner, born in Fort Worth, Texas
- Jan 27 Emmanuel Pahud, French-Swiss flautist
- Jan 27 Mark Trojanowski, American rock drummer (Sister Hazel), born in the USA
- Jan 28 Donald Tardy, American death metal drummer (Obituary, Cause of Death)
- Jan 28 Rob Clayton, American alternative rock drummer (The Jody Grind), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1992)
- Jan 31 (Amelia) "Minnie" Driver, British-American actress (Good Will Hunting; The Riches), and singer-songwriter (Everything I've Got in My Pocket), born in London, England
Deaths in Music
- Jan 2 Piotr Rytel, Polish composer, dies at 85
- Jan 5 Roberto Gerhard, Spanish Catalan composer (The Plague), dies of heart disease at 73
- Jan 15 Vytautas Bacevičius [Bacewicz], Lithuanian avant garde composer (Della Guerra Symphony), dies at 64
- Jan 17 Billy Stewart, American singer ("I Do Love You"), dies in auto-accident at 32
- Jan 17 Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoonist (b. 1890)
- Jan 24 James "Shep" Shepherd, American R&B singer-songwriter (The Heartbeats - "One Thousand Miles"; Shep & Limelites - "Daddy's Home"), beaten to death in a robbery at 34
- Jan 25 Jane Bathori, French mezzo-soprano, dies at 92
- Jan 31 Slim Harpo [James Moore], American blues musician (I'm a King Bee, Baby Scratch My Back), dies of a heart attack at 46
