- May 1 (Alexander) "Bobby" Kok, Boer-British classical and session cellist (BBC Symphony; George Harrison - "When We Was Fab"), dies at 89
- May 1 Grace Lee Whitney, American singer and actress (Yeoman Rand-Star Trek), dies at 85
- May 2 Guy Carawan, American folk singer and folklorist (We Shall Overcome), dies at 87
- May 2 Ma Shui-long, Taiwanese classical composer (The Peacock Flies Southeast), dies at 75
- May 2 Maya Plisetskaya, Russian prima ballerina (Bolshoi Ballet), dies at 89
- May 5 Craig Gruber, American rock bassist (Rainbow), dies of cancer at 63
- May 6 Errol Brown, British-Jamaican singer-songwriter (Hot Chocolate - "You Sexy Thing"), dies at 71
- May 8 (Antoni) "Ton" Hartsuiker, Dutch pianist, composer, broadcaster, and educator, dies at 81
- May 8 Jaime León, Colombian pianist, composer, and conductor Filarmónica de Bogota, 1971-78), dies at 93
- May 12 Mervyn Burtch, Welsh composer (The Raven King) and educator, dies at 85
- May 13 Robert Drasnin, American clarinetist, composer, and film and television music supervisor (CBS, 1977-91), dies after a fall at 87
B.B. King (1925-2015)
May 14 American blues guitarist and singer (The Thrill is Gone), dies at 89
- May 17 Chinx [Lionel Pickens], American rapper (Coke Boys), dies in a drive-by shooting at 31
- May 21 Louis Johnson, American rock bassist and vocalist (Brothers Johnson), dies at 60
- May 28 Steven Gerber, American classical composer (Music in Dark Times), dies at 66
- May 29 Peter Cropper, British violinist (Lindsay Quartet, 1965-2005), dies of a heart attack at 59
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers