- Oct 1 Edda Heiðrún Backman, Icelandic stage and screen actress, singer, theater director, and painter, dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 58
- Oct 2 Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist (Academy of St Martin in the Fields), dies at 92
- Oct 2 Thomas Round, British tenor (Gilbert and Sullivan For All), dies at 100
- Oct 3 Joan Marie Johnson, American pop singer (The Dixie Cups - "Chapel Of Love"; "Iko Iko"), dies of congestive heart failure at 72
- Oct 4 Caroline Crawley, British alt-rock singer (Shelleyan Orphan; Babacar), dies at 53
- Oct 4 Donald H. White, American composer (Lyric Suite for Euphonium and Winds; Tuba Sonata) and educator, dies at 95
- Oct 5 Pompeiu Hărăşteanu, Romanian basso profondo singer (Opera Bonn, 1968-72; Romanian National Opera, 1972-2012), dies at 81
- Oct 8 Don Ciccone, American singer-songwriter (The Critters - "Mr. Dieingly Sad"; The Hit Men), dies of a heart attack at 70
- Oct 12 (William) "Sonny" Sanders, American soul vocalist, songwriter, arranger and producer (Jackie Wilson), dies at 77
- Oct 13 Gerhard Wimberger, Austria composer (Glove), dies at 93
- Oct 19 Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina, dies at 99
- Oct 24 Bobby Vee [Velline], American pop singer ("Devil Or Angel"; "Take Good Care Of My Baby"), dies at 73
- Oct 24 Pete Burns, English singer (Dead or Alive, "Spin Me Round"), dies of a cardiac arrest at 57
- Oct 26 Stuart Edwards, British guitarist (Edison Lighthouse - "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes"), dies of cancer at 73
- Oct 29 Roland Dyens, French classical guitarist, composer, and arranger (Libra Sonatine), dies at 61
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