- Oct 12 Ray Conniff, American bandleader and musician (Ray Conniff Singers), dies at 85
- Oct 14 Norbert Schultze, German songwriter (Lili Marleen), opera and film score composer and reformed propagandist, dies at 91
- Oct 17 (George) Derek Bell, Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist, and composer (The Chieftans; "Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times"), dies of a heart attack at 66 [1]
- Oct 18 Roman Tam, Hong Kong singer (b. 1950)
Adolph Green (1914-2002)
Oct 23 American screenwriter (On The Town; Singin' in the Rain), lyricist ("Bells Are Ringing"; "Just In Time"), and playwright (It's Always Fair Weather) - all usually with collaborator Betty Comden, dies at 87
Richard Harris (1930-2002)
Oct 25 Irish actor (A Man Called Horse, This Sporting Life) and singer ("MacArthur Park"), dies of Hodgkin's disease at 72
- Oct 27 Tom Dowd, American recording engineer and producer (innovator of multitrack recording), dies of emphysema at 77
- Oct 30 Jam Master Jay [Jason Mizell], American rapper, DJ and musician (Run-DMC), fatally shot by a drug dealer at 37
- Oct 30 Rudolf Brucci [Bruči], Italian-Croatian composer (Gilgamesh; Lesta), and educator, dies at 85
Kendrick Lamar
Eminem
XXXTentacion
Tupac Shakur
Nicki Minaj
Coolio