I started this project a long time ago, but I have since lost all the notes I collected. So, here is a running collection of rock musicians with PhDs. If you know of others, send me an email. I’m trying to focus on those working in academia or who have held professorial positions in addition to their musical careers.
Milo Aukerman, lead singer of California punk band Descendants, earned a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Aukerman’s college career has been musically depicted since the Descendants’ debut album, Milo Goes to College. Aukerman does “really complicated stuff with genetics and plants and biochemistry.”
1970s singer-songwritter Michael Franks (Art of Tea), has a PhD in comparative literature (possibly from the University of Montreal). Franks’s own website biography does not mention his academic career, but his Wikipedia page claims he taught part-time at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Greg Graffin, lead singer of California punk band Bad Religion, holds a PhD in zoology from Cornell University. His dissertation was on evolutionary biology. Graffin teaches at UCLA and continues to perform with Bad Religion.
Guitarist/singer Dan Yemin of Lifetime, Paint it Black, and Kid Dynamite holds a PsyD from Widener University and is a practicing child psychologist in the Philadelphia area.
Jimmy Yu, former bassist of New York City hard core band Judge, holds a PhD in religion from Princeton University and is currently Assistant Professor of Religion at Florida State University.
Guitarist Warren Zanes, formerly of the Del Fuegos, has a PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester. He is the former Vice President of Education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Brian May, guitarist/songwriter of Queen, holds a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College.
