- May 1 Nick Fortuna, American rock bassist (The Buckinghams), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 2 Lesley Gore, American singer (It's My Party, You Don't Own Me), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2015)
- May 7 Bill Danoff, American vocalist (Starland Vocal Band), born in Springfield, Massachusetts
- May 7 Bill Kreutzmann, American rock drummer (Grateful Dead), born in Palo Alto, California
- May 10 Graham Gouldman, bassist (10cc-No Milk Today), born in Manchester, England
- May 10 Dave Mason, Worcester England, singer/songwriter (We Just Disagree)
- May 10 Donovan [Philips Leitch], Scottish musician (Sunshine Superman, Catch the Wind), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- May 11 Plume Latraverse, Quebec singer and musician
- May 14 Alan David Marks, pianist/composer
- May 14 Derek Lek Leckenby, rock guitarist (Herman's Hermits-Kinda Hush)
- May 16 Robert Fripp, guitarist (King Crimson)
- May 17 Udo Lindenberg, German musician
- May 18 George Young, Scottish-Australian musician, songwriter and record producer (the Easybeats, Flash and the Pan), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2017)
Cher
May 20 Cher [Cherilyn Sarkisian], American singer and actress (I Got You Babe, Jack Lalane, Mask), born in El Centro, California
Cher
- May 23 Danny Klein, American rock bassist (J Geils Band-Centerfold), born in NYC, New York
- May 24 Steve Upton, rock drummer (Wishbone Ash-There's the Rub, Locked In)
- May 26 Mick Ronson, English musician (d. 1993)
- May 27 Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish musician (d. 2005)
- May 31 Debbie Moore, founder/CEO (Pineapple Dance Studios)