- Oct 2 Bola de Nieve [Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández], Cuban singer, pianist and songwriter, dies at 60
- Oct 3 Seán Ó Riada [John Reidy], Irish composer (Mise Éire), traditional music revivalist, and bandleader (Ceoltóirí Chualann), dies at 40
- Oct 8 Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman, Dutch composer, dies at 79
- Oct 12 Gene Vincent [Vincent Eugene Craddock], American rock guitarist and vocalist ("Be-Bop-A-Lula"), dies of bleeding ulcers at 36
- Oct 24 Carl Ruggles, American composer (Evocations), dies at 95
- Oct 24 Fernand Quinet, Belgian composer, cellist and conductor (La Guerre), dies at 73
- Oct 28 Yves de La Casiniere, French composer, dies at 74
- Oct 29 Duane Allman, American rock guitarist (The Allman Brothers Band), dies in a motorcycle accident at 24
- Oct 30 Osvald Chlubna, Czech organist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 78
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers