- May 3 Uroš Krek, Slovenian composer, dies at 85
- May 5 Jerry Wallace, American country and pop singer ("Primrose Lane"; "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"), dies of heart failure at 79
- May 5 Thomas Boggs, American rock drummer (Box Tops), dies at 63
- May 8 Eddy Arnold, American country music singer ("Make The World Go Away"; "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"), dies at 89
- May 8 Larry Levine, American sound engineer (Phil Spector's wall of sound; Herb Alpert; Beach Boys), dies of emphysema on his 80th birthday
- May 10 Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
- May 11 Dottie Rambo [Joyce Luttrell], American gospel singer, dies when her tour bus crashes at 74
- May 11 John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (Rush, 1968-1974), dies from a heart attack at 55
- May 15 Alexander Courage, American composer of original Star Trek theme, dies at 88
- May 15 Walt Dickerson, American jazz vibraphone player, and composer ("To My Queen"), dies of cardiac arrest at 80 [1]
- May 16 Wilfrid Howard Mellers, English musicologist and composer (François Couperin and the French Classical Tradition), dies at 94
- May 23 (Bruce) "Utah" Phillips, American folk singer-songwriter ("Green Rolling Hills"; "The Goodnight-Loving Trail") storyteller, poet, and labor organizer, dies of heart disease at 73
- May 25 David Gahr, American photographer noted for his work with folk, jazz and rock musicians (Time Magazine; Folkways albums), dies at 85 [1]
- May 26 Earle Hagen, American big band trombonist (Isham Jones; Tommy Dorsey; Benny Goodman), and Emmy Award-winning television composer (The Dick Van Dyke Show; The Andy Griffith Show; I Spy; The Mod Squad; "Harlem Nocturne"), dies at 88
- May 28 Dennis Moss, British jazz tenor saxophonist, dies at 80
- May 28 Jerry Cole [Jerald Kolbrak], American session guitarist and arranger (Wrecking Crew), dies of a heart attack at 58
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers