- May 1 James Wise, American soul singer (Archie Bell & the Drells- I Can't Stop Dancing; Do the Choo-Choo), born in Houston, Texas
- May 2 Larry Gatlin, American country singer (Gatlin Brothers - "Broken Lady"), born in Seminole, Texas
- May 3 Chris Mulkey, American actor (Cloverfield), born in Viroqua, Wisconsin
- May 3 Peter Oosterhuis, British golfer (British Open 1974, 82 runner-up; Ryder Cup x 6), born in London, England
- May 4 Billy O'Donnell, Canadian harness racing driver (5,742 career wins; Harness Tracks of America Driver of the Year 1982, 84; Little Brown Jug 1985, 86), born in Springhill, Nova Scotia
- May 4 George Tupou V, King of Tonga (2006-2012), born in Tongatapu, Tonga (d. 2012)
- May 4 Hurley Haywood, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1977, 83, 94; 24 Hours of Daytona 1973, 75, 77, 79, 91), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 5 Bill Ward, English heavy metal drummer (Black Sabbath), born in Birmingham, England
- May 5 Frank Esler-Smith, English-Australian rock keyboardist (Air Supply - "All Out Of Love"), born in London (d. 1991)
- May 6 Jacques Israelievitch, French Canadian classical violinist, concertmaster (St. Louis Symphony, 1978-88; Toronto Symphony, 1988-2008), and music director (Koffler Chamber Orchestra, 2005-14), born in Cannes, France (d. 2015)
- May 6 Mary MacGregor, American pop singer ("Torn Between Two Lovers"), born in St. Paul, Minnesota
- May 6 Richard Cox, American actor (Mark-Executive Suite), born in NYC, New York
- May 6 Shaun Murphy, American session and touring rock, blues, and R&B singer (Little Feat, 1993-2009; Bob Seger; Eric Clapton), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- May 8 Don "Red" Young, American session, touring keyboard and piano player, band leader, and jazz Hammond B3 organist, born in Fort Worth, Texas
- May 8 John Reid, British politician (L), born in Bellshill, Scotland
- May 8 Maurizio Nichetti, Italian screenwriter, director and actor (Icicle Thief, Volcano), born in Milan, Italy
- May 8 Stephen Stohn, Canadian television producer (Degrassi)
- May 9 Calvin Murphy, American basketball player
- May 9 Hans Georg Bock, German mathematician
- May 9 John Mahaffey, American golfer (PGA Championship 1978; 10 PGA Tour titles), born in Kerrville, Texas
- May 10 Christopher Gent, CEO (Vodafone Group)
- May 11 Alfred Matt, Austrian slalom (Olympic bronze 1968)
- May 11 Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-British politician
- May 11 Shigeru Izumiya, Japanese folk musician
- May 12 Lindsay Ann Crouse, American actress (Slapshot, Iceman, Places in Heart), born in NYC, New York
- May 12 Steve Winwood, English singer, songwriter and musician (Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'"; Traffic - "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys"; solo - 'Higher Love"; "While You See A Chance"), born in Birmingham, England
- May 13 David "Hawk" Wolinski, American funk keyboardist (Rufus; Chaka Kahn), and record producer, born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 13 Guillermo Echevarría, Mexican swimmer (1,500m WR 16:28.1 1968), born in Mexico City, Mexico (d. 2021)
- May 13 Jeffrey Evans, Lord Mayor of London (2015-16), born in Gothenburg, Sweden
- May 14 Bob Woolmer, English cricket all-rounder, coach (19 Tests, coach Pakistan, South Africa), born in Kanpur, India (d. 2007)
- May 14 Dave LaRoche, baseball pitcher (NY Yankees)
- May 14 Walter Olkewicz, actor (Last Resort, Wizards & Warriors), born in Bayonne, New Jersey
- May 15 Brian Eno, British rock and ambient musician (Robert Fripp; Roxy Music; Jon Hassell), and record producer (Roxy Music; David Bowie; Talking Heads; U2;, Coldplay; Paul Simon), born in Woodbridge, Sussex
- May 16 Alto Reed [Thomas Cartmell], American saxophonist (Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2020)
- May 16 Katia Dandoulaki, Greek actress
- May 18 Felix MH Troch, Flemish actor and director (Gekkenbriefje)
- May 18 Joe Bonsall, American country singer (Oak Ridge Boys - "Elvira"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- May 19 Boet van Dulmen, Dutch motorcycle racer (84 starts, 1 win, 4 podiums,1 pole; Finnish 500cc GP 1979), born in Ammerzoden, Netherlands (d. 2021)
- May 19 Grace Jones, Jamaican-American disco singer ("Slave to the Rhythm"), and actress (A View To A Kill), born in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica
- May 19 Jean-Pierre Haignere, French cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-17)
- May 19 Tom Scott, American saxophonist and composer (L.A. Express; The Blues Brothers), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 20 Aleksandr Timoshinin, Russian rower (Olympic gold Soviet Union double sculls 1968, 72), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2021)
- May 20 Dave Thomas, St Catherines Ontario, comedian (SCTV, Grace Under Fire)
- May 20 John Amiel, director (Queen of Hearts, Tune in Tomorrow)
- May 20 John R. McKernan Jr., American politician (Rep-R-ME, 1983-86, Governor of Maine 1987-95), born in Bangor, Maine
- May 20 Samuel Gejdenson, American politician (Rep-D-Connecticut, 1981-2001), born in Eschwege, Allied-occupied Germany
- May 21 (Gerard) "Leo" Sayer, British songwriter and singer ("You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"; "When I Need Love"), born in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England
- May 21 Carol Potter, American actress (Beverly Hills 90210, Today's FBI), born in NYC, New York
- May 22 Doug Gray, American musician (The Marshall Tucker Band), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina
- May 22 Richard Baker, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 6th district), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- May 23 Ernesto Marcel, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight title 1972-74), born in Colón, Panama (d. 2020)
- May 24 Ernst Jansz, Dutch keyboardist and singer (Doe Maar), born in Amsterdam
- May 25 Klaus Meine, German musician (Scorpions), born in Hanover, Germany
- May 26 (Stephanie) "Stevie"Nicks, American rock singer-songwriter (Fleetwood Mac - "Rhiannon"; "Landslide"; Bella Donna - "Edge Of Seventeen"), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- May 26 Geoff Greenidge, West Indian cricket batsman (5 Tests; last white player to play for WI), born in St Michael, Barbados
- May 26 Ken Clark, Canadian football punter (CFL All Star 1977, 80, 82, 85; Hamilton Tiger-Cats; Saskatchewan Roughriders; Ottawa Rough Riders; NFL: LA Rams), born in Southampton, England (d. 2021)
- May 27 Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-8, T-14, TM-7), born in Horlivka, Ukraine, Soviet Union
- May 27 Anna E "Annelies" Balhan, Dutch revue-artist/actress (Sweet Chairty)
- May 27 Pete Sears, British session and touring bassist (Jefferson Starship; Rod Stewart), born in Bromley, Kent, England
- May 28 Bob Shearer, Australian golfer, course designer (4 x PGA Tour of Australia Order of Merit), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2022)
- May 28 Ray Laidlaw, British folk-rock drummer (Lindisfarne - "Lady Eleanor"; Jack the Lad), born in England
- May 29 Linda Esther Gray, Scottish operatic soprano (Isolde), born in Greenock
- May 29 Michael Berkeley, English composer, broadcaster and House of Lords member (Jayne Eyre opera), born in London, England
- May 29 Nick Mancuso, Italian-Canadian actor, born in Mammola, Italy
- May 30 Michael Piller, American screenwriter (d. 2005)
- May 31 Duncan L. Hunter, American politician (Rep-R-CA, 1981- 2009), born in Riverside, California
John Bonham (1948-1980)
May 31 English rock drummer (Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love"), born in Redditch, England
- May 31 Lynda Bellingham, Canadian-born English actress (Sweeney, Scarlet Tunic), born in Montreal, Quebec, (d. 2014)
- May 31 Mike Edwards, aka Swami Deva Pramada, British rock cellist (ELO), born in London (d. 2010)
- May 31 Paulinho da Costa, Brazilian percussionist (Thriller; Saturday Night Fever), born in Rio de Janeiro
- May 31 Svetlana Alexievich, Ukrainian journalist and author (Noble Prize for Literature 2015), born in Stanislav, Ukraine
About May 1948
How Old? 74 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: Yes