Events in Music
- May 1 "Day in Hollywood, A Night..." opens at John Golden NYC for 588 performances
Academy of Country Music Awards
May 1 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Larry Gatlin and Crystal Gayle win
Music History
May 2 Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in Wall (Part II)" is banned in South Africa
Album Release
May 16 Paul McCartney releases "McCartney II" album
Music History
May 17 Paul & Linda McCartney appear on "Saturday Night Live"
Music History
May 21 "Star Wars Episode V - Empire Strikes Back", produced by George Lucas opens in cinemas in UK and North America
Cannes Film Festival
May 23 33rd Cannes Film Festival: "All That Jazz" directed by Bob Fosse and "Kagemusha" directed by Akira Kurosawa jointly awarded the Palme d'Or
- May 24 "Rock Lobster" by B-52s hits #56
- May 25 "Musical Chairs" closes at Rialto Theater NYC after 15 performances
- May 29 John MacLachlan Gray's musical "Billy Bishop Goes to War" opens at Morosco Theater, NYC; runs for 12 performances, then moves to Off-Broadway
- May 31 "Love Stinks" by J. Geils Band peaks at #38
Birthdays in Music
- May 1 Zaz [Isabelle Geffroy], French singer-songwriter (Je veux), born in Tours, France
- May 6 Taebin, Korean singer (1TYM)
- May 8 Michelle McManus, Scottish pop singer ("All This Time"), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- May 13 Mau Marcelo, Filipina-American soul and R&B singer, born in Lucena, Philippines
- May 17 Dallas Taylor, American Christian metal singer (Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Underoath), born in Ocala, Florida
- May 18 Ali Zafar, Pakistani singer and model (Channo), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- May 21 Gotye [Wouter De Backer], Belgian-Australian rock singer-songwriter ("Someone That I Used to Know"), born in Bruges, Belgium
- May 22 Rhett Fisher, American actor and musician, born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- May 24 Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong-Australian actress (Fly Me To Polaris) and cantopop singer, born in Hong Kong
- May 28 Mark Feehily, Irish pop singer (Westlife - "Flying Without Wings"), born in Sligo, Ireland
- May 31 Andy Hurley, American drummer (Fall Out Boy - "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race"), born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
Deaths in Music
- May 12 Lillian Roth [Rutstein], American singer and actress (Animal Crackers; Alice Sweet Alice), dies at 69
- May 14 Wilhelm Weismann, German composer, dies at 79
- May 18 Ian Curtis, English rock vocalist (Joy Division), commits suicide at 23
- May 30 Carl Radle, American bass guitarist (Derek and the Dominoes), dies of a kidney infection at 37