- May 1 Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer (Doppelspiel), born in Skellefteå, Sweden (d. 2018)
- May 2 Torbjörn Hultcrantzn, Swedish jazz double bass player, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1994)
- May 4 Dick Dale [Mansour], American surf-rock guitarist ("Let's Go Tripping"; "Misirlou"; "Pipeline"), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
- May 4 Hans Ulrich Lehmann, Swiss composer, born in Biel, Switzerland (d. 2013)
- May 4 Ron Carter, American jazz double bassist and cellist (Ron Carter Meets Bach), born in Ferndale, Michigan
- May 5 Delia Derbyshire, English musician and composer (Doctor Who theme; White Noise), born in Coventry, England (d. 2001)
- May 9 Dave Prater, American soul singer (Sam & Dave - "Soul Man"), born in Ocilla, Georgia (d. 1988)
- May 9 Sonny Curtis, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (The Crickets - " I Fought The Law"; solo - "Love Is All Around"), born in Meadow, Texas
- May 10 Mike Melvoin, American jazz and studio pianist, composer, and arranger, born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (d. 2012)
- May 13 Judith Somogi, American conductor (Frankfurt Opera-1982), born in New York City
- May 13 Teddy Randazzo, American pop singer-songwriter (I'm on the Outside Looking In), born in New York City (d. 2003)
- May 14 Peter Williams, British organist and musicologist, born in Wolverhampton, England (d. 2016)
- May 14 Vic Flick, British studio guitarist ("James Bond Theme"; George Martin Orchestra; John Barry Seven), film score composer and arranger, born in Worcester Park, Surrey, England
- May 15 (Trinidad) "Trini" Lopez, American singer and guitarist ("If I Had A Hammer"; "Lemon Tree"), and actor (The Dirty Dozen), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2020) [1]
- May 15 Karin Krog, Norwegian jazz singer and composer, born in Oslo, Norway
- May 26 Yehuda Yannay, Romanian-Israeli-American composer (Exit Music at Century's End), and educator (University of Wisconsin, 1970-2004), born in Timișoara, Romania
- May 29 Hibari Misora [Kazue Katō], Japanese pop singer ("Kawa no nagare no yō ni" - Like the Flow of the River), and actress, born in Yokohama, Japan (d. 1988)
- May 29 Irmin Schmidt, German keyboardist and rocker (Can), born in Berlin, Germany
- May 29 Peter Kolman, Austrian composer, born in Bratislava, Slovakia
About May 1937
How Old? 86 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers