Events in Music
Pro Wrestling
May 1 Billy Corgan agrees to purchase the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)
Album Release
May 12 Former One Direction singer Harry Styles releases his self-titled debut solo album
- May 13 62nd Eurovision Song Contest: Portugal's Salvador Sobral wins singing "Amar Pelos Dois"
Billboard Music Awards
May 21 24th Billboard Music Awards: Drake wins 13; Beyoncé and Twenty One Pilots win 5 each; Justin Timberlake wins 2
Music Concert
May 22 Suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, England, after Ariana Grande concert kills 22 and injures 59
Music History
May 30 Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John reveals her breast cancer has returned after 25 years
Weddings in Music
Deaths in Music
- May 2 (Mary) Norma Procter, British contralto singer, dies of Parkinson's Disease at 89
- May 2 Grigori Zhislin, Russian concert violinist, and viola player, dies at 71
- May 3 Daliah Lavi [Levinbuck], Israeli actress (Casino Royale: Lord Jim), and singer, dies at 74
- May 7 David Pell, American big band jazz saxophonist, bandleader (Dave Pell Octet), and record producer, dies at 92
- May 8 Robert Gutter, American conductor and teacher (founded International Institute for Conductors, 1996), dies at 78
- May 9 Robert Miles [Roberto Concina], Swiss musician, record producer, and composer of trance and ambient music ("Children"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 47
- May 12 Bill Dowdy, American jazz drummer (The Three Sounds), dies at 84
- May 18 Chris Cornell, American musician (Soundgarden, Audioslave), commits suicide at 52
- May 18 Frankie Paul [Paul Blake], Jamaican reggae musician, dies of kidney disease at 51
- May 18 Jimmy "Bro" Hayes, American doo-wop bass singer (Persuasions - "Under the Boardwalk"), dies at 74
- May 20 Jimmy Dale, British-Canadian pianist and orchestra leader (The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour), dies at 81
- May 22 (Granville) "Mickey" Roker, American jazz drummer (Art Farmer; Milt Jackson; Dizzy Gillespie), dies suffering from diabetes and lung cancer at 84
- May 22 Barbara Smith Conrad, American operatic mezzo-soprano singer, and educator (Wagner Theater), dies at 79
- May 27 Gregg Allman, American Hammond organist, guitarist and vocalist (The Allman Brothers Band - "Whipping Post"), dies of cancer at 69
- May 28 Elisabeth Chojnacka, Polish harpsichordist, with works dedicated to her by over 80 composers, dies at 79
- May 31 Jiří Bělohlávek, Czech conductor (Czech Philharmonic, 1990-92 & 2012-17; Prague Philharmonia, 1993-2005; BBC Symphony, 2006-12), dies of cancer at 71
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers