Birthdays in Music
- May 2 Svatopluk Havelka, Czech composer, born in Vrbice, Karviná, Czech Republic (d. 2009)
- May 13 Anthony Milner, British composer, born in Bristol, England (d. 2002)
- May 14 Al Porcino, American big band jazz and session trumpeter (Woody Herman, Stan Kenton), born in NYC (d. 2013)
- May 14 Patrice Munsel [Munsil], American operatic soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1943-58; Patrice Munsel Show), born in Spokane, Washington (d. 2016)
- May 14 Tristram Ogilvie Cary, British-Australian composer, electronic music pioneer, and educator, born in Oxford, England (d. 2008)
- May 15 Andrey Yakoulevich Eshpay, composer
- May 15 Emmanuel Ghent, Canadian American electronic music composer (Phosphones), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2003)
- May 20 Chester Ludgin, American baritone (d. 2003)
- May 22 James King, American tenor, born in Dodge City, Kansas (d. 2005)
- May 23 Malcolm "Mac" Wiseman, American bluegrass singer, born in Crimora, Virginia (d. 2019)
- May 25 Aldo Clementi, Italian composer, born in Catania, Sicily (d. 2011)
- May 28 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone (Doktor Faust), born in Zehlendorf, Germany (d. 2012)
- May 30 Claude Prey, French composer, born in Fleury sur Andelle (d. 1998)
Deaths in Music
- May 12 Artur Napoleão dos Santos, Portuguese pianist, composer, and music publisher, dies at 82
