Events in Music
- May 1 "On the Waterfront" opens at Atkinson Theater NYC for 8 performances
- May 1 "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" single released by John Michael Montgomery (Billboard Song of the Year 1995)
Academy of Country Music Awards
May 10 30th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire win
Birthdays in Music
Weddings in Music
- May 20 "Eagles" singer Don Henley (47) weds model Sharon Summerall (33) in Malibu
Deaths in Music
- May 4 Louis Krasner, Ukrainian-American violinist, dies at 91
- May 5 Thomas Eden Binkley, musician, dies at 63
- May 6 Clarence Paul [Pauling], American songwriter, and record producer (Motown; Stevie Wonder - "Fingertips"), dies at 67
- May 6 Leonard "Red" Truss, American R&B singer (The Steelers - "Get It From The Bottom"), dies at 47
- May 7 Ray McKinley, American orchestra leader and jazz drummer (Glenn Miller Time), dies at 84
- May 8 Carroll Best, American bluegrass banjo player and educator, shot to death by his brother at 64
- May 8 Teresa Teng [Li-chun], Taiwanese pop singer ("Aijin"; "The Power Of Love"; "Airport"), and actress, dies from a severe asthma attack at 42
- May 9 Marshall Royal, American jazz alto saxophonist & clarinetist (Count Basie Orchestra), dies at 82
- May 10 Jimmy Raney, American jazz guitarist, dies at 67
- May 11 Tibor Sarai, Hungarian composer, dies at 76
- May 12 Marcel Rubin, Austrian composer, dies at 89
- May 15 Johnny Van Derrick, British jazz violinist (Pink Panther Theme), dies at 68
- May 15 Perry Lederman, folk singer, dies at 52
- May 16 Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer and actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona), dies at 70
- May 17 Nathan "Dambuza" Mdledle, South African singer (Manhattan Brothers) and actor, dies at 72
- May 18 Alexander Gudonov, Russian dancer & actor (Witness), dies at 45
- May 18 André-François Marescotti, Swiss organist & composer, dies at 93
- May 18 Gordon Reynolds, English organist & master of the Choristers at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, dies at 74
- May 23 Keith Humble, Australian composer, dies at 67
- May 23 Mick Pyne, British touring and session jazz pianist (Tubby Hayes; Georgie Fame: Charlie Watts), dies at 54
- May 25 Dick Curless, American country music singer-songwriter (A Tombstone Every Mile), dies of stomach cancer at 63
- May 26 Ron Weatherburn, British jazz pianist, dies at 61
- May 27 C W Stubblefield, music promoter, dies at 64
- May 27 László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), dies at 63
- May 27 Ulysses Kay, American neoclassical composer (Of New Horizons: Overture), dies of Parkinson's disease complications at 78
- May 28 Henning Kronstam, Danish dancer, dies at 60
- May 31 Pavel Sivic, Slovenian composer, dies at 87