10 Rock Musicians with Spectacular College Degrees

“It’ s a prolonged technique to the discontinue whereas you wanna rock ‘n’ roll.” Any successful rocker will verbalize you that it takes years of apply, labor, and possibly even some success in describe so that you just can reach the discontinue of the music charts. Surprisingly, just a few of these popular rockers furthermore chanced on themselves attracted to other topics besides music. Some rockers were college graduates before they chanced on popularity, and others went encourage to college after their popularity to pursue degrees in engineering, literature, science, and other fields. Here’s a list of ten in model rock musicians that furthermore grasp spectacular college degrees.

Connected: Ten Principal and (Usually) Recurring Musical Alter Egos

10 Tom Scholz

Tom Scholz is the founder and handiest perfect normal member of the American rock band Boston. The multi-proficient musician can play the guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, however the rocker is furthermore an MIT-trained engineer. Scholz earned his grasp’s degree at MIT, and after that, he went on to work for Polaroid as a product invent engineer. Whereas working for the company, he constructed a private recording studio within the basement of his condominium.

All the contrivance thru this time, Scholz started writing and producing music, which within the extinguish resulted in the appearance of Boston. Scholz stated that he had no real interest in rock and roll music when first attending MIT, but bands such because the Yardbirds and Kinks opened his thoughts to the model of music. If he had by no reach earned his degree at MIT, we presumably wouldn’t grasp hits love “Extra Than a Feeling” and “Peace of Mind.”^[1]

9 Gregg Graffin

In 1980, Gregg Graffin co-founded the punk rock band Low Faith. He’s the lead vocalist and the ideal constant member of the band that is famous for its politically charged lyrics. Graffin furthermore embarked on a solo profession in 1997 and launched three solo albums. He isn’t staunch a hardcore rocker, though; he is furthermore an evolutionary biologist and has lectured various classes on the arena.

Graffin earned his grasp’s degree in geology from the College of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He then persevered his review at Cornell College and earned a Ph.D. in zoology. Graffin snappy returned to both universities for immediate instructing stints in pure science classes. He has furthermore published various books about science and faith.^[2]

8 Rivers Cuomo

Rivers Cuomo is simplest known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the band Weezer. The American rock band produced hits akin to “Dispute It Ain’t So,” “Buddy Holly,” and “Island within the Solar.” Cuomo desired to be extra than staunch a musician after losing interest on tour, so he enrolled at Harvard after the band’s debut album used to be launched. He finally dropped out, but he decided to reach to the Ivy League college after their album Assemble Specialise in. He went on to invent his bachelor’s degree in English in 2006.^[3]

7 Jeff Schroeder

Jeff Schroeder rocked out with the Smashing Pumpkins from 2007 to 2023. He’s the broken-down guitarist of the different rock band and the third-longest-serving member of the band. He used to be furthermore a member of the Violet Burning and the Lassie Foundation bands.

Earlier than joining the Smashing Pumpkins, Schroeder labored to invent a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the College of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and his review centered on East Asian and American literature. The assorted training equipped him with a wiser working out of cultural and literary traditions that helped influence the contrivance in which he checked out music.^[4]

6 James Williamson

Within the 1970s, James Williamson started touring with rock band The Stooges as their guitarist. Williamson co-wrote a quantity of the band’s songs at some stage in this time with the lead singer, Iggy Pop. The Stooges disbanded in 1974 after the participants desired to lunge recent opportunities. Williamson would take this different to pursue a wiser training degree.

After The Stooges fracture up, he persevered to work with Pop as a songwriter and producer. Williamson persevered this work for about a 300 and sixty five days before he decided to depart the music alternate entirely after disagreements with Pop, other musicians, and others within the alternate. He straight away enrolled at California Reveal Polytechnic College, Pomona, and earned an electrical engineering degree.

He then moved to Silicon Valley and started designing microchips for 15 years before turning into Sony’s vice president of technical requirements. When Willaimson retired from Sony, he chanced on himself encourage on stage playing the guitar after receiving a phenomenal name from Iggy Pop asking to join him on tour.^[5]

5 Tom Morello

One among the most in model metal rock bands of the Nineties used to be Rage In opposition to the Machine, which used to be founded by Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello. Morello is simplest known for his artistic guitar playing and stable political opinions. He used to be even inducted into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Repute in 2023 as a member of Rage In opposition to the Machine.

Morello used to be furthermore a member of the bands Audioslave, Prophets of Rage, and Lock Up. He used to be even once a touring member of Bruce Springsteen and the E-Avenue Band. Earlier than turning loyal into a widely known rocker, Morello graduated from the prestigious Harvard College in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. His degree helped shape his political opinions and the music that he wrote.^[6]

4 Art Garfunkel

One half of the folks-rock duo Simon and Garfunkel used to be singer Art Garfunkel. The pair launched hit songs akin to “Mrs. Robinson,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “The Boxer.” The pair finally fracture up, but Garfunkel saw success in a solo profession with one top 10 hit, three top 20 hits, and 6 top 40 hits. He and Simon were inducted into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Repute in 1990.

Nonetheless, before his rock popularity started, Garfunkel at the origin attended Columbia College in Fresh York, where he majored in architecture. In 1965, he earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from the identical university, adopted by a grasp’s degree in mathematics training. Surprisingly, he finished these advanced duties at some stage within the height of Simon & Garfunkel’s profession.^[7]

3 Milo Aukerman

Milo Aukerman joined the band Descendents after the originate of their first single, but he handiest stayed with the band till the originate of their first album, Milo Goes to College. He then decided to pursue a level in biochemistry from the College of California, San Diego. After leaving college, he would earn himself going encourage and forth between the band and biochemistry.

He rejoined the Descendents various instances over the next couple of years after college, but he made the selection to completely depart again after their tour finished in 1987. He didn’t reach to a dedication to officially rejoin the band again till 1995. After the next album’s tour, he returned to his profession in molecular biology. He would rejoin the band intermittently, but he made the dedication to depart his profession in 2016, citing burnout, and would rejoin the band beefy-time as a singer and songwriter.^[8]

2 Dexter Holland

Dexter Holland used to be the co-founder, singer, and songwriter for the in model punk-rock band the Offspring. Earlier than the band chanced on success, Holland used to be taking a look for to be a student of mathematics. He graduated from excessive college as class valedictorian, and he attended the College of Southern California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a grasp’s degree in molecular biology.
He suspended his review, though, after the Offspring chanced on success. They are peaceable is named one amongst the most in model punk bands of the Nineties, with extra than 40 million recordsdata equipped from their 10 studio albums. Their album Break gained the band mainstream success and went six instances multi-platinum, and their songs had been feeble in various films and TV reveals. Holland finally resumed his review and earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology in 2017.^[9]

1 Brian Could well possibly furthermore merely

Brian Could well possibly furthermore merely is most known for being the co-founder and lead guitarist for the universally-known band Queen, but he is furthermore a portray producer, animal rights activist, and astrophysicist. In 1968, Could well possibly furthermore merely graduated from Imperial College London with a bachelor’s degree in physics. He stepped a long way off from completing his Ph.D. to pursue his music profession, which would flip out to be a extraordinarily unbiased loyal dedication. With hits akin to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” We Will Rock You,” and “We Are the Champions,” the band used to make sure to hunt out popularity.

Queen had fifty three Top 40 singles, and 6 of them reached the amount 1 arena. The band used to be furthermore inducted into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Repute in 2001, the UK Song Corridor of Repute in 2004, and awarded a Grammy Lifetime Fulfillment Award in 2018.

Could well possibly furthermore merely finally returned to college and finished his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007. He has authored books on astronomy, used to be appointed chancellor of Liverpool John Moores College for about five years, and went on to collaborate with other astrophysicists to analyze recordsdata from NASA. Could well possibly furthermore merely has actually lived a life beefy of rock and science.^[10]

reality checked by
Darci Heikkinen