Born: October 20, 1885

Died: July 10, 1941

Early and pivotal jazz pianist and composer credited for writing many of the earliest jazz songs, including "Black Bottom Stomp" (1926), died from asthma on 7/10/1941, age 65

Born: October 20, 1901

Died: May 14, 1942

Pianist and pop music composer known for penning some of the best-loved of Walt Disney's early songs for animated short and feature length films, including "Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?" for Three Little Pigs (1933) and "Whistle While you Work" for Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937), won the Oscar for Best Score co-writing the instrumental music to Peter Pan (1941). committed suicide on 5/14/1942, age 40

Born: October 20, 1910

Died: December 21, 1971

Founding member, baritone vocals and guitar for pioneering black R&B/doo wop group The Ink Spots, "To Each His Own" (#1, R&B #3, 1946), continued with various incarnations of the group through the 50s, died on 12/21/1971, age 61

Born: October 20, 1913

Died: February 19, 1998

Banjo-picking, multi-decade country and gospel music singer, balladeer and Nashville fixture with multiple singles in the 50s and 60s ("T For Texas," Country #5, 1963), joined the cast of TV country music/comedy show Hee Haw in 1969 and became a national celebrity, died following two strokes after a performance at the Grand Ole Opry on 2/19/1998, age 84.

Born: October 20, 1934

Died: August 09, 1974

Jazz and Big Band trumpeter, played with Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton and Woody Herman, formed Grammy-nominated jazz-rock fusion Chase, "Get It On" (Top 30, 1971) from the album Chase (#22, 1971), died with other bandmembers in a charter plane crash while on tour on 8/9/1974, age 39

Born: October 20, 1934

Died: November 05, 1996

Innovative, virtuoso jazz saxophonist known for introducing the electrically-amplified saxophone, for his version of "Theme From Exodus (" #36, R&B #16, 1961), for penning the jazz standard "Freedom Jazz Dance" for Miles Davis (1966), and for the collaboration with jazz pianist Les McCann on Swiss Movement (#29, R&B #2, Jazz #1, 1969) and "Compared To What" (CB #96, R&B #35, 1970), died from bone cancer and kidney disease on 11/5/1996, age 62

Born: October 20, 1937

Died: 0000-00-00

The "Queen of Rockabilly" and later country-pop singer, "Right Or Wrong" (#29, Country #9, 1961) and "Fancy Satin Pillows" (Country #13, 1970)

Born: October 20, 1939

Died: 0000-00-00

Vocals in blue-eyed soul/doo wop The Tokens, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (#1, 1961)

Born: October 20, 1940

Died: May 19, 2001

The "Golden Girl of British Pop," child prodigy singer and actress whose meteoric rise to stardom in Britain was followed by a quick descent into bankruptcy and obscurity with five years, "Secret Love" (UK #4, 1963), died of a heart attack on 5/19/2011, age 60.

Born: October 20, 1942

Died: 0000-00-00

Singer, songwriter, session musician and founding member of Brit folk-pop trio The Ivy League, "Funny How Love Can Be" (UK #8, 1965), left to write and produce for pre-fab psych-pop one hit wonder The Flower Pot Men, "Let's Go To San Francisco" (UK #1, 1967), co-wrote "Little Bit O' Soul" for The Music Explosion (#2, 1967), "Beach Baby" for The First Class (#4, 1974) and other hits

Born: October 20, 1945

Died: 0000-00-00

Drummer for British blues-rock Ten Years After, "I'd Love To Change The World" (Top 40, 1971)

Born: October 20, 1949

Died: 0000-00-00

Co-founder and keyboards for one hit wonder pop-rock Looking Glass, "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" (#1, 1972)

Born: October 20, 1950

Died: October 02, 2017

Singer, songwriter, guitarist and bandleader whose music was a staple of rock radio for nearly four decades, fronted roots rock Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ("The Waiting," #19, Mainstream Rock #1, 1981), issued three solo albums with several hits, including "Free Fallin'" (#7, 1989), joined supergroup The Traveling Wilburys ("Handle With Care," Mainstream Rock #2, 1988) and reformed the predecessor band to The Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch, in 2007, recorded and toured with The Heartbreakers until his death from cardiac arrest on 10/2/2017, age 66

Born: October 20, 1951

Died: 0000-00-00

Founding member and keyboardist for British-American arena rock band Foreigner, "Double Vision" (#2, 1978), left to form The Spys and session work

Born: October 20, 1958

Died: 0000-00-00

Bass guitar and vocals in jazz-funk-pop fusion Level 42, "Lessons In Love" (#12, 1987)

Born: October 20, 1958

Died: 0000-00-00

Guitarist with post-punk/hard rock Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" (#1, 1982)

Born: October 20, 1964

Died: 0000-00-00

Drummer in post-punk rock then teen-pop Lemonheads, "Into Your Arms" (Modern Rock #1, 1993)

Born: October 20, 1964

Died: 0000-00-00

Drums and vocals for 90s pop-rock quartet Hootie & The Blowfish, "Only Wanna Be With You" (#6, 1995)

Born: October 20, 1965

Died: 0000-00-00

Guitar and vocals in Scot pre-grunge, then power pop Teenage Fanclub, "Star Sign" (Mainstream Rock #4, 1991)

Born: October 20, 1971

Died: 0000-00-00

Aussie pop superstar, actress, model and gay rights activist, "Love And Kisses" (UK Singles #8, Australia #4, 1991) and "Begin To Wonder" (Dance/Club #14, 2003), younger sister of Kylie Minogue

Born: October 20, 1971

Died: 0000-00-00

Hugely controversial but successful gangsta rapper, "Drop It Like It's Hot" (#1, 2004) and 8 other Top 40 hits plus multiple Rap Top 10 singles

Born: October 20, 1977

Died: 0000-00-00

Drummer in indie rock Kaiser Chiefs, "Ruby" (UK #1, 2007)

Born: October 20, 1978

Died: 0000-00-00

Bassist for Irish indie-rock Snow Patrol, "Chasing Cars" (#5, 2006)

Born: October 20, 1934

Died: November 06, 2021

British journalist with a 50-plus year career writing about prominent musicians, artists and philanthropists, best known for her interview with pre-stardom The Beatles and a 1966 interview with John Lennon in which he famously claimed the band was “more popular than Jesus,” collapsed in a London Underground station in 1992 and subsequently diagnosed with myalgia encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, later suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died from unspecified causes on 11/6/2021, age 87.

Born: October 20, 1936

Died: October 19, 2022

Mezzo-soprano opera and concert singer, older sister of singer/songwriters Carly and Lucy Simon, debuted at New York City Opera in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” in 1962 and won the Marian Anderson Award as the year’s most promising young singer, then embarked on a nearly 30-year career performing with multiple organizations on opera stages around the world, along the way finding time to sing backup on Carly’s No Secrets album (#1, 1973) and Lucy’s LP Lucy Simon (1975), started a side career in music journalism on public TV in the 80s, and a full-time career as a real estate broker in the 90s, died from thyroid cancer on 10/19/2022, the day before her 86th birthday and just one day before her younger sister Lucy died of breast cancer.

Born: October 20, 1959

Died: April 06, 2026

Grocery store worker and high school cheerleader turned pioneering hip-hop vocalist who helped lay the foundation for female emcees as a founding member of rap trio The Sequence; teamed with Cheryl "The Pearl" Cook and Angie B (Angela Brown) to form the first all-female group signed to the legendary Sugar Hill Records; the group's debut "Funk You Up" (R&B #15, 1979) was the first rap single released by a female group and a foundational track in the genre's history; continued to bridge the gap between disco, funk, and nascent hip-hop on tracks like "Funky Sound (Tear the Roof Off)" (R&B #39, 1981) and "I Don't Need Your Love (Part One)" (R&B #40, 1981); disbanded in the late-80s but remained active in the background as a concert producer and artist manager, including as Stone’s personal assistant; died in a hospital from septic shock after a brief illness on 4/6/2026, age 66.