Events in Music
- Oct 8 Alain Boubil and Herbert Kretzner's "Les Miserables" premieres in London
Music History
Oct 8 Little Richard seriously injured in a single car accident in Los Angeles
- Oct 9 "Tango Argentino" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC; runs for 198 performances
- Oct 13 "Sunday in the Park with George" closes at Booth NYC after 604 performances
- Oct 14 19th Country Music Association Award: Ricky Skaggs wins
- Oct 30 "Rockin' with the Rhythm" second studio album by The Judds is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1986)
Birthdays in Music
Bruno Mars (37 years old)
Oct 8 American pop and R&B singer-songwriter ("Just the Way You Are", "The Lazy Song"; "Uptown Funk"), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Ciara (37 years old)
Oct 25 American singer and songwriter (Ciara: The Evolution) and model, born in Austin, Texas
- Oct 28 Nomcebo [Nkwanyana], South African singer-songwriter ("Jerusalema"), born in Hammarsdale, Republic of South Africa
Deaths in Music
- Oct 5 Brian Keenan, American rock drummer (The Chamber Brothers), dies of a heart attack at 42
- Oct 6 Nelson Riddle, American Grammy Award-winning bandleader, conductor, and orchestrator for Capitol Records (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Dean Martin), dies of complications from cirrhosis of the liver at 64
- Oct 7 Cemal Reşit Rey, Turkish composer, dies at 81
- Oct 11 Tex Williams, American country-western singer, dies of cancer at 68
- Oct 12 Ricky Wilson, American rock guitarist (B-52's - "Love Shack"), dies of AIDS at 32
- Oct 14 Emil Gilels, Soviet concert pianist (Brussels Competition - 1st prize, 1938), dies at 68
- Oct 15 Ted Steele, American orchestra leader (Cavalcade of Stars), dies at 68
- Oct 17 Joseph Rosenstock, American conductor (NY City Opera), dies at 90
- Oct 22 Viorica Ursuleac, Romanian operatic soprano, dies at 91
- Oct 25 (John) Morton Downey, American pop tenor, known as "The Irish Nightengale", songwriter, radio and television host, dies at 83
Composers
Drummers
Guitarists
Pianists
Singers
Songwriters