Events in Music
Music Single
Jan 9 John Lennon single "Nobody Told Me" released posthumously
- Jan 10 Conductor Eugene Ormandy leads his last concert, with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, NYC
American Music Awards
Jan 16 11th American Music Awards: Pat Benatar and Michael Jackson win
Music History
Jan 16 Paul & Linda McCartney arrested in Barbados-possession of cannabis
- Jan 27 Geffen Records releases "Milk & Honey" album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, featuring un-released recordings made during the 1980 "Double Fantasy" sessions, including "Grow Old With Me"
- Jan 27 Michael Jackson is burned during filming for Pepsi commercial
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 10 Karen Souza, Argentinian jazz and bossa nova singer, songwriter, and producer (Essentials; Velvet Vault), born in La Pampa, Argentina
- Jan 16 Jared Slingerland, Canadian rock guitarist and electronic musician, born in Kelowna, British Columbia
- Jan 17 Calvin Harris, Scottish DJ, singer-songwriter and producer ("We Found Love"), born in Dumfries, Scotland
- Jan 18 Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer (So You Think You Can Dance), born in Newport Beach, California
- Jan 18 Kristy Lee Cook, American country singer (American Idol, season 7), born in Seattle, Washington
- Jan 20 Toni Gonzaga, Filipino singer and actress, born in Rizal, Philippines
- Jan 24 Witold Kiełtyka, Polish drummer (Decapitated), born in Krosno, Poland (d. 2007)
- Jan 30 Kid Cudi [Scott Mescudi], American rapper (Man on the Moon: The End of Day), born in Cleveland, Ohio
Deaths in Music
- Jan 1 Alexis Korner, British blues revivalist, guitar player (Blues Incorporated - "Please Please Please Please"), and radio broadcaster, dies of lung cancer at 55
- Jan 11 Fritz Geissler, German composer, dies at 62
- Jan 14 Paul Ben Haim [Frankenburger], Israeli composer, dies at 86
- Jan 17 Kostas Giannidis [Yannis Constantinidis], Greek composer and pianist, dies at 80
- Jan 18 Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer, rebetiko and laïkó songwriter, and bouzouki player, dies on his 69th birthday
- Jan 21 Jackie Wilson, American soul singer-songwriter and performer ("Lonely Teardrops"; "Higher And Higher": "I Get the Sweetest Feeling"), dies from stroke complications at 49
- Jan 23 Dean Goffin, New Zealand composer, dies at 67
- Jan 23 Samuel Gardner, American composer, dies at 92
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Rappers
Rockers