- May 1 Carson Whitsett, American session keyboard player and songwriter ("Don't Give Up On Me"), born in Jackson, Mississippi (d. 2007)
- May 1 Rita Coolidge, American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter (Higher & Higher; We're All Alone), born in Nashville, Tennessee
- May 2 Goldy McJohn [John Goadsby], Canadian rock keyboard and Hammond B3 organ player (Steppenwolf - "Magic Carpet ride"; 'Born To Be Wild"), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2017)
- May 2 Judge Dread [Alexander Hughes] English reggae musician, born in Kent, England (d. 1998)
- May 2 Randy Cain, American soul singer (4 Gents;; Delfonics - "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
- May 4 Georg Wadenius, Swedish rocker (Blood, Sweat & Tears), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- May 6 Bob Seger, American singer and songwriter ("Old Time Rock and Roll"; "Hollywood Nights"; "Against The Wind"), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 6 Victoria Bond, American conductor and composer, born in Los Angeles, California
- May 7 Christy Moore, Irish folk singer and songwriter, born in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
- May 7 Cornelius Bumpus, American saxophonist and keyboardist (Doobie Brothers; Steely Dan), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2004)
- May 8 Keith Jarrett, American jazz and classical pianist and composer (The Köln Concert), born in Allentown, Pennsylvania
- May 9 Steve Katz, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Blood, Sweat & Tears), born in New York City
- May 12 "Little" Jayotis Washington, American cappella singer (The Persuasions), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 12 Ian McLagan, English rock keyboardist (Small Face; Faces), born in Hounslow, Middlesex, (d. 2014)
- May 12 Keith Olsen, American rock record producer and sound engineer (Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac; Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station; Joe Walsh - The Confessor), born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (d. 2020)
- May 13 Louis "Blue Lou" Marini, American saxophonist, arranger, and composer (Blues Brothers), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- May 13 Magic Dick [Richard Salwitz], American harmonica player and musician (J Geils Band - "Centerfold"), born in New London, Connecticut
- May 14 Grigori Zhislin, Russian concert violinist, and viola player, born in Leningrad, USSR (d. 2017)
- May 15 Lasse Berghagen, Swedish pop singer-songwriter (Teddybjörnen Fredriksson), born in Enskede, Sweden
- May 16 Nicky Chinn, British-American pop songwriter and producer (with Mike Chapman: Sweet - "The Ballroom Blitz"; Suzi Quatro; Toni Basel - "Mickey"; Tina Turner - "You Better Be Good To Me"), born in London, England
Pete Townshend (78 years old)
May 19 British rock guitarist, composer, and vocalist (The Who - Tommy; "My Generation": "Won't Get Fooled Again"; solo - "Let My Love Open the Door"), born in Chiswick, Middlesex, England
- May 23 Misty Morgan, American country keyboardist (duo with Jack Blanchard - "Tennessee Bird Walk"), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2021)
- May 24 Terry Callier, American soul, folk and jazz guitarist, and singer-songwriter ("What Color Is Love"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2012)
- May 26 Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer (Guess Who - "American Woman"; "No Sugar Tonight"), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- May 27 Bruce Cockburn, Canadian folk rock singer-songwriter ("Wondering Where the Lions Are"; "If I Had a Rocket Launcher"), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- May 28 John Fogerty, American songwriter, guitarist, and singer (Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Have You Ever Seen The Rain"; "Lookin' Out My Backdoor"), born in Berkeley, California
- May 29 Gary Brooker, British rock keyboardist and singer (Procol Harum -"A Whiter Shade of Pale"), born in Hackney, London, England (d. 2022)
- May 30 Gladys Horton, American pop singer (The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman"; "Too Many Fish In The Sea"), born in Gainesville, Florida (d. 2011) [or 1944]
- May 30 Steve Smith, American singer (Lawrence Welk Show), born in San Francisco, California
About May 1945
How Old? 78 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers