- May 1 Ray Parker Jr, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Ghostbusters), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 2 Angela Bofill, Cuban-Puerto Rican-American R&B singer-songwriter (This Time I'll Be Sweeter; Too Tough), born in Brooklyn, NYC
- May 3 Patti Boulaye [Komlosy] (née Ebigwei), Nigerian-British pop singer and stage and screen actress (Bisi, Daughter of the River), born in a taxi in Mid-Western Nigeria
- May 4 Julie Budd, American singer ("Child of Plenty"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 4 Marilyn Martin, American singer-songwriter ("Separate Lives"), born in Tennessee
- May 4 Pia Zadora [Schipani], American actress (Hairspray), and singer, born in Hoboken, New Jersey
- May 5 Angelo Kimball, American rock guitarist (Face To Face), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 8 Phil Wiggins, American blues harmonica player (Cephas & Wiggins), born in Washington, D.C.
- May 11 Edgar Riley Jr, American rock keyboardist (Axe - "Rock 'N' Roll Party in the Streets"), born in Florida
- May 11 Judith Weir, English composer (Master of the Queen's Music, 2014-present), born in Cambridge, England
- May 13 Johnny Logan [Seán Sherrard], Irish celtic-pop singer and songwriter ("Hold Me Now"), born in Frankston, Australia
- May 18 Jaques Morelenbaum, Brazilian cellist, arranger, conductor, and composer, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- May 18 Reinhold Heil, German composer, born in Schlüchtern, Germany
- May 18 Wreckless Eric [Eric Goulden], British new wave rock singer-songwriter ("Whole Wide World"), born in Newhaven, England
- May 19 Phil Rudd, Australian rock drummer (AC/DC - Rock 'n Roll Damnation), born in Melbourne, Victoria
- May 20 Guy Hoffman, American drummer (BoDeans, 1984-87; Violent Femmes, 1993-2002), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- May 20 James Henderson, American southern rock guitarist (Black Oak Arkansas, 1975-79 - "Ain't Life Grand"), born in Jackson, Mississippi (d. 2016)
- May 21 Marc Ribot, American guitarist (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn), born in Newark, New Jersey
- May 22 Aaron Rapoport, American photographer, and music album cover designer (Lionel Richie - Dancing on the Ceiling; Supertramp - Breakfast In America), born in San Mateo County, California
- May 22 Jerry Dammers, British keyboardist (The Specials), born in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, India
- May 28 George E Mahlberg, American astronomer (Mt Palomar/Mt Wilson, California, 1974-78), movie actor, sound engineer, and DJ (Dr. Cosmo), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2011)
- May 28 Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist, born in Kazan, USSR (d. 1988)
- May 29 Robert Beaser, American composer, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 31 Anders Hilborg, Swedish contemporary classical composer (Eleven Gates; Cold Heat), born in Sollentuna, Sweden
- May 31 Paul Franklin, American session and touring steel guitarist (Barbara Mandrell; Vince Gill), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 31 Vicki Sue Robinson, American stage and screen actress, and pop singer ("Turn the Beat Around"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2000)
About May 1954
How Old? 69 or 70 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers