- Oct 9 Roy Black, German schlager singer and actor (Kinderarzt Dr Froehlich), dies of heart failure at 43
- Oct 16 Boris Papandopulo, Croatian composer, dies at 78
- Oct 16 Tonny Huurdeman, singer/actress (Frills), dies
- Oct 17 "Tennessee" Ernie Ford, American country music singer ("Sixteen Tons"), and actor (I Love Lucy; The Ford Show), dies of liver disease at 72
- Oct 18 Gunnar Sønstevold, Norwegian jazz pianist, and orchestral and film score composer (Litany In Atlanta; The Dorian Cage), dies at 78
- Oct 25 Bill Graham, [Wulf Grajonca], German-American impresario and rock concert promoter (Fillmore; Winterland Ballroom; Live-Aid), dies in a helicopter crash in California at 60
- Oct 25 Margo J. Sylvia (née Lopez), American pop singer (Tune Weavers - "Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby"), dies of heart attack and stroke at 55
- Oct 27 Andrzej Panufnik, Polish-British conductor and composer (Arbor Cosmica; Sinfonia Sacra), dies at 77
- Oct 28 Sylvia Fine Kaye, US lyricist and composer, dies at 78
- Oct 31 Willem Pelemans, Flemish composer, and music critic, dies at 90
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