Events in Music
- May 19 Maurice Ravel's opera "L'Heure Espagnole" premieres in Paris
Birthdays in Music
Robert Johnson
May 8 Robert Johnson, American blues singer (King of Delta Blues Singers), born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi (d. 1938)

Robert Johnson
- May 13 Maxine Sullivan [Marietta Williams], American jazz vocalist and performer (Going Places), born in Homestead, Pennsylvania (d. 1987)
- May 14 Hans Vogt, German composer, born in Danzig (d. 1992)
- May 18 Joe Turner, KC, blues singer (Corrine Corrina, Shake Rattle & Roll)
- May 23 Boris Kremenliev, composer
Deaths in Music
- May 18 Gustav Mahler, Austr composer (Children's Death Songs), dies at 50