- May 2 John "Jo" Callis, British punk-rock songwriter and musician (The Rezillos; The Human League), born in Rotherham, England
- May 2 John Glascock, British bass guitarist and singer (Carmen, 1972-75; Jethro Tull, 1976-79 - "Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young To Die"), born in Islington, England (d. 1979)
- May 3 Christopher Cross [Geppert], American singer-songwriter ("Arthur's Theme"; "Think Of Laura"; "Sailing"), born in San Antonio, Texas
- May 4 (Sigmund) "Jackie" Jackson, American pop singer and songwriter (Jackson 5 - "ABC"; "I Want You Back"), born in Gary, Indiana
- May 4 Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel), born in London
- May 4 Mick Mars [Robert Alan Deal], guitarist (Mötley Crüe), born in Terre Haute, Indiana (alternative date 4 April 1955)
- May 5 Rex Goh, Singaporean-Australian rock guitarist (Air Supply -"The One That You Love"), born in Singapore
- May 6 Davey Johnstone, Scottish guitarist, and musical director (Elton John's band, 1971–1977, 1982–present), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- May 7 Bernie Marsden, English rock and blues guitarist and songwriter (Whitesnake - "Fool for Your Loving"; "Here I Go Again"), born in Buckingham, England (d. 2023)
- May 7 Carlos Alomar, Puerto Rican-American guitarist, composer, and arranger (David Bowie, 1974-80, 1983-87), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- May 7 Mic Gillette, American trumpet, trombone, and flugelhorn player (Tower of Power, Cold Blood, The Sons of Champlin), born in Oakland, California (d. 2016)
- May 8 Chris Frantz, American rock drummer (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club), born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- May 8 Philip Bailey, American R&B and pop singer (Earth Wind & Fire - "Shining Star"; solo - "Easy Lover"), born in Denver, Colorado
- May 9 Charley Drayton, American session and touring drummer, bass player (X-pensive Winos; DiVinyls; Paul Simon; Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul; Bob Dylan), and record producer, born in New York City
Joy Harjo (72 years old)
May 9 American poet, musician and 1st Native American US Poet Laureate (2019-22), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- May 10 Ron Banks, American R&B singer and songwriter (Dramatics - "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2010)
- May 13 Guus Janssen, Dutch jazz and classical pianist, harpsichordist, and composer, born in Heiloo, Netherlands
- May 13 Paul Thompson, British rock drummer (Roxy Music, 1971-80 & 2001-11 - "Love Is The Drug"; Concrete Blonde, 1989-94; Lindisfarne, 2013-21), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
- May 14 Jay Beckenstein, American saxophonist (Spyro Gyra - "Morning Dance"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 15 (Dennis) "Fergie" Frederiksen, American rock singerr (Toto, 1984-85), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2014)
- May 16 Jonathan Richman, American rock singer-songwriter (Modern Lovers - "Road Runner"), born in Natick, Massachusetts
- May 18 Mike Baird, American session drummer (Donna Summer; Rick Springfield; Eddie Money; Richard Marx; Kenny Rogers), born in South Gate, California
- May 19 James Boyer, American audio engineer and record producer (Peter Cetera; Billy Joel; George Benson), born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania
- May 19 Joey Ramone [Jeffrey Hyman], American punk rock singer and musician (The Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"; Blitzkrieg Bop"; solo -"What a Wonderful World"), born in Forest Hills, New York (d. 2001)
- May 21 Arthur Russell, American experimental classical-pop fusion cellist, and composer, born in Oskaloosa, Iowa (d. 1992)
- May 23 Judy Rodman, American country singer ("Girls Ride Horses Too"), born in Riverside, California
- May 24 Rob Baker, Canadian rock drummer (Red Rider, 1975-85 - "Lunatic Fringe"; "White Hot"), born in Toronto, Ontario
- May 25 Chuck Ruff, American rock drummer (Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein"), born in Reno, Nevada (d. 2011)
- May 29 Ron Levy [Reuvin Levi], American blues Hammond organist, and composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- May 30 Zdravko Čolić, Yugoslav-Bosnian singer, born in Sarajevo, FPR Yugoslavia
- May 31 Jimmy Nalls, American session and touring rock-jazz-fusion guitarist (Sea Level), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2017)
About May 1951
How Old? 72 or 73 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers