- Oct 1 Lynsey de Paul, British singer and actress (Sugar Me), dies from a brain hemorrhage at 66
- Oct 4 Konrad Boehmer, German-Dutch composer, dies at 73
- Oct 4 Paul Revere [Dick], American rock organ player and pianist (Paul Revere & Raiders - "Kicks": "Indian Reservation"), dies of cancer at 76
- Oct 5 Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, choreographer, singer, director and painter (Annie; The Wiz), dies at 84
- Oct 10 Curtis Otto Bismark Curtis-Smith, American pianist, composer, and educator, dies at 73
- Oct 11 Mats Rondin, Swedish cellist, conductor, and educator, dies at 54
- Oct 14 Ikey Owens, American keyboardist (The Mars Volta; Jack White), and producer, dies of a heart attack at 39
- Oct 16 Tim Hauser, American jazz singer (The Manhattan Transfer - "Boy From New York City"), dies from cardiac arrest at 72
- Oct 18 Joanne Borgella, American plus-sized model and singer, dies of cancer at 32
- Oct 19 Raphael Ravenscroft, British session saxophone player (Gerry Rafferty - "Baker Street"; Maxine Nightingale; Roger Waters), dies at 60
- Oct 19 Stephen Paulus, American composer (To Be Certain of the Dawn) and co-founder of the American Composers Forum, dies of stroke complications at 65
- Oct 20 Pavle Merku, Italian-Slovene composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 87
- Oct 23 Alvin Stardust [Bernard Jewry], English rock singer("Jealous Mind"), dies of prostate cancer at 72
- Oct 25 Jack Bruce, Scottish bassist and singer-songwriter (Cream - "White Room"), dies at 71
- Oct 31 Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist, dies at 92
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