- May 1 Jim Clench, Canadian rock bassist and songwriter (April Wine; Bachman-Turner Overdrive), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2010)
- May 1 Tim Hodgkinson, British composer and musician (Henry Cow), born in Salisbury, England
- May 2 Joey Phillips, American percussionist (Atlantic Starr - "Touch a Four-Leaf Clover"), born in the USA
- May 4 Zal Cleminson, Scottish guitarist (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), born in Glasgow, Scotland
Billy Joel (74 years old)
May 9 American rock singer-songwriter, and piano player ("Piano Man"; "Just the Way You Are"; "Captain Jack"), born in The Bronx, New York
- May 10 Nolan Porter, American R&B singer-songwriter ("Keep On Keeping On"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2021)
- May 13 Jane Glover, British conductor (London Mozart Players, 1984-91; Music of the Baroque Ennsemble (Chicago), 2002-), born in Helmsley, England
- May 13 Piotr Moss, Polish-French contemporary classical composer, born in Bydgoszcz, Poland
- May 15 Eric Beekes, Dutch pop singer (Kater), and actor (Lily Was Here), born in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies (now Jawa Timur, Indonesia)
- May 17 Andrew Latimer, English musician (Camel), born in Guildford, England
- May 17 Bill Bruford, PhD, British rock and jazz drummer (Yes; King Crimson; Genesis (touring only); Earthworks), born in Sevenoaks, Kent, England
- May 18 Jim McNeely, American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger (Mel Lewis; Stan Getz; Phil Woods), and educator, born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 18 Rick Wakeman, British session pianist (Cat Stevens; David Bowie), progressive rock keyboardist (Yes, 1971-2004 (intermittently); Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe), and composer, born in London, England
- May 18 William Wallace, Canadian musician (The Guess Who - "American Woman"), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- May 19 Joseph "Dusty" Hill, American rock bassist and songwriter (ZZ Top - "Cheap Sunglasses"; "Legs"), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2021) [1]
- May 21 Arno [Arnold Hintjens], Belgian rock singer-songwriter (TC Matic), born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 2022)
- May 21 Rosalind Plowright, British mezzo-soprano (Aida, Senta), born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
Hank Williams Jr (74 years old)
May 26 Jr, American country singer-songwriter ("All My Rowdy Friends"; "Honky Tonkin'": "There's A Tear In My Beer"), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
- May 28 Joseph Alfidi, American classical prodigy pianist, composer and conductor, born in New York City (d. 2015)
- May 28 Wendy O. Williams, American punk rock singer-songwriter (The Plasmatics), born in Webster, New York (d. 1998)
- May 29 Francis Rossi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Status Quo), born in London, England
About May 1949
How Old? 74 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
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