- May 2 J. Fred Coots, American songwriter ("Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"; "Love Letters In The Sand"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1985)
- May 14 Sidney Bechet, American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer ("Petite Fleur"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1959)
- May 16 Walther Geiser, Swiss violist, composer and conductor, born in Zofingen, Switzerland (d. 1993)
- May 22 Marcelle Meyer, French concert pianist specializing in both contemporary classical (Les Six) and Baroque revivalist (Bach; Rameau) repertoires, born in Lille, France (d. 1958)
- May 23 Fred Guy, American jazz banjo player and guitarist (Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra; Duke Ellington's Washingtonians), born in Burkeville, Virginia (d. 1971)
- May 29 Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Austrian-American composer (Violanta; The Adventures of Robin Hood), born in Brünn, Austria-Hungary (d. 1957)
- May 29 Ignace Lilien, Dutch-Austrian composer, born in Lemberg (now in Lviv, Ukraine) (d. 1964)
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers