- Oct 1 Jeane Manson, American singer and actress, born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Oct 2 Michael Rutherford, British rock bassist and guitar player (Genesis; Mike & the Mechanics - "Living Years"), born in Chertsey, Surrey, England
- Oct 3 John Curulewski, American rock guitarist and singer (Styx), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1988)
- Oct 3 Ronnie Laws, American saxophonist and guitarist (Earth, Wind & Fire), born in Houston, Texas
- Oct 5 "Fast" Eddie Clarke, British guitarist (Fastway, Motörhead), born in Twickenham, London (d. 2018)
- Oct 5 Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (Taxi - "Bobby"; Grease - "Kenickie"; Babylon 5 - "Zack"), born in New York City (d. 2011)
- Oct 6 Thomas McClary, American soul guitarist and singer (The Commodores), born in Eustis, Florida
- Oct 8 Robert "Kool" Bell, American funk rock bassist (Kool & the Gang - "Joanna"), born in Youngstown, Ohio
- Oct 9 Darlene Koldenhoven, American session, new age, and Latin jazz soprano vocalist (Pink Floyd; Sister Act; 2+2), and pianist, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 11 Andrew Woolfolk, American pop musician (Earth, Wind & Fire - "Shining Star"), born in Texas
- Oct 12 Dave Shogren, American rock bassist (The Doobie Brothers, 1970-71), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1999)
- Oct 13 Simon Nicol, British folk-rock guitarist, singer, and record producer (Fairport Convention), born in Muswell Hill, London, England
- Oct 17 Sandra Reemer, Indo-Dutch pop singer ("As Love Goes"), and television presenter, born in Bandung, Indonesia (d. 2017)
- Oct 20 Elodie Lauten [Genevieve Schecroun], French-American composer (The Death of Don Juan), born in Paris (d. 2014)
Tom Petty (1950-2017)
Oct 20 American classic rock singer and songwriter (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "American Girl"; Traveling Wilburys - "Last Night"; solo -"I Won't Back Down"), born in Gainesville, Florida
- Oct 23 Harry Sacksioni, Dutch instrumental-folk-pop guitarist and composer (Around the Corner; Meta Sequoia), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Oct 24 Michael Huey, American session drummer (Frankie Miller; Glenn Frey; Walter Egan), and producer (Gene Clark; Tommy Roe), born in Bowdon, Georgia
- Oct 24 Steven Greenberg, American composer and musician (Lipps Inc.), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Oct 25 Chris Norman, British pop-rock singer (Smokie - "Living Next Door to Alice"), born in Redcar, England
About October 1950
How Old? 73 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No