Events in Music
- May 6 Stolen "Guitar Player" painting by Jan Vermeer found in London
- May 11 "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield hits #7
Event of Interest
May 11 Steely Dan releases "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"
Donald Fagen
Event of Interest
May 17 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 15th String quartet
Dmitri Shostakovich
- May 18 Novelty song "The Streak" by Ray Stevens hits #1
Event of Interest
May 24 "The Dean Martin Show" last airs on NBC-TV
Dean Martin
Album Release
May 24 RCA releases "Diamond Dogs", David Bowie's 8th studio album, recorded in London and the Netherlands, with cover design by artist Guy Peellaert, it peaks in the U.S. charts at No. 5, and goes to No. 1 in the U.K. and Canada
David Bowie
Birthdays in Music
- May 2 Garðar Thór Cortes, Icelandic tenor, born in Reykjavík, Iceland
- May 13 Tim McMahon, American hardcore singer (Mouthpiece, Hands Tied, Triple Threat)
- May 15 Ahmet Rodan Zappa, son of Frank/rocker (Z, 2 Hip 4 TV)
- May 16 Laura Pausini, Italian pop singer
- May 16 Sonny Sandoval, American singer (P.O.D.)
- May 21 Havoc [Kejuan Muchita], American rapper (Mobb Deep), born in Queensbridge, Queens, New York
Jewel Kilcher
May 23 Jewel Kilcher, American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ("Pieces Of You"; "You Were Meant For Me"; "Standing Still"), born in Payson, Utah
Jewel Kilcher
- May 23 Mónica Naranjo, Spanish singer, born in Figueres, Spain
- May 23 Charlie Yeung, Hong Kong actress and singer (Seven Swords), born in Hong Kong
- May 25 Frank Klepacki, American video game composer (Command & Conquer: Red Alert), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 30 Cee-Lo Green [Thomas Callaway], American Grammy winning singer-songwriter (Crazy, F*** You), reality TV judge (The Voice), record producer, and actor, born in Atlanta, Georgia
- May 30 Big L [Lamont Coleman], American rapper (Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1999)
- May 31 Adrian Tomine, American contemporary cartoonist (Optic Nerve; The New Yorker), and album art creator (The Eels; Yo La Tango), born in Sacramento, California
Deaths in Music
- May 4 Israel Citkowitz, Polish composer, dies at 65
- May 4 Geraldo [Gerald Walcan Bright], British "sweet music" dance band leader (Gaucho Tango Orchestra), dies of a heart attack at 69
- May 8 Graham Bond, British R&B musician, dies jumping under a train at 36
- May 9 Lyubomir Pipkov, Bulgarian composer, dies at 69
- May 23 Kathleen Cannell, American fashion and dance writer, dies at 82
Duke Ellington
May 24 Edward "Duke" Ellington, American bandleader, composer and pianist ("Take the A Train"; "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"), dies of cancer at 75
Duke Ellington