- May 6 Johnny Bragg, American doo-wop singer-songwriter (The Prisonaires - "Just Walkin' in the Rain"), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2004)
- May 6 Marguerite Piazza, American operatic soprano (Young Broadway), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2012)
- May 12 Philip Springer, American composer (“Santa Baby”; "The Next Time"; "The Bells Of Notre Dame"), born in New York City [1]
- May 14 Čestmír Gregor, Czech composer, born in Brno (d. 2011)
- May 15 [Jean-Josephat] Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist and composer (Implosion Symphony), born in Saint-Georges, Quebec (d. 2006)
- May 16 Jan Zimmer, Slovak composer, born in Ružomberok, North Slovakia (d. 1993)
- May 18 Lou Bennett, American bebop pianist, and jazz organist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1997)
- May 19 Paul Cooper, American classical music composer, and educator, born in Victoria, Illinois (d. 1996)
- May 20 George Hurst, British conductor (BBC Northern Orchestra. 1958-68; Bournemouth Sinfonietta. 1968-74), and educator, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 2012)
- May 20 Vic Ames, singer (Ames Brothers), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 1978)
- May 26 Joseph Horovitz, British composer (Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo; Euphonium Concerto; Rumpole of the Bailey), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2022)
- May 26 Maria de Lourdes Martins, Portuguese pianist and composer, born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 2009)
Miles Davis (1926-1991)
May 26 American jazz musician, trumpeter and composer (Kinda Blue; Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet; Sketches of Spain), born in Alton, Illinois
- May 27 (Clifford) “Bud” Shank, American jazz saxophonist and flute player, born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 2009)
- May 28 Russ Freeman, American classically trained bebop and cool jazz pianist and composer (Art Pepper; Charlie Parker; Chet Baker; Clifford Brown; Shelly Manne), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2002)
- May 30 Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1977)
- May 31 (Heinz) "Henry" Lewy, German-American sound engineer and record producer (Joni Mitchell; Leonard Cohen; Neil Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Stephen Bishop; Judee Sill; The Monkees), born in Magdeburg, Germany (d. 2006)
About May 1926
How Old? 97 or 98 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
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Rockers