Are You Smarter than a Rock Star? Quiz

Answer: Dexter Holland of the Offspring

Dexter Holland, the lead singer for the Offspring, has a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in molecular biology from the University of Southern California. He was working on his PhD dissertation when the Offspring first gained national attention, and he left school to focus on the band.

The Offspring have been on the music charts since the mid 1990s with such hits as "Come Out and Play", "Self Esteem", "Gone Away" and "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)".

Answer: "Weird Al" Yankovic

You haven't made it until "Weird Al" Yankovic has parodied one of your songs -- at least, that's what Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters said during a VH1 show about Al. Al has parodied the best of them, including the Offspring ("Pretty Fly for a Rabbi"), Nirvana ("Smells Like Nirvana") and Puff Daddy ("It's All About the Pentiums").

He started his career in the early 1980s when music videos were all the rage, and he certainly used the medium to his advantage - his videos are just as funny as his songs.

His 2006 album, "Straight Out of Lynwood", was his first top ten album in the U.S., and the single "White and Nerdy" peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard charts - his best showing for a single. He has also earned a couple of Grammy awards for comedy recordings.

Answer: Art Garfunkel

Depending on the source, Art Garfunkel either has a master's degree in mathematics or a master's degree in architecture. Even articles on his official website list both options. Most sources credit him with a degree in mathematics however. His bachelor's degree was in art history so he's a bit of a renaissance man.

Although he has had some success with his solo career, he will always be remembered for his work with Paul Simon. Simon and Garfunkel had many hits, including "Feelin' Groovy", "The Sounds of Silence" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters", and in 2003 they reunited for a very successful tour.

Answer: Young MC

Although born in London, Young MC (aka Marvin Young) was raised in Queens, NY and is now based in Arizona. Besides his Grammy award winning hit, "Bust a Move", he has also co-written hits for Tone Loc ("Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina"). Although he continues to record music and tour, he has earned that infamous moniker from VH1, one-hit wonder.

Answer: Brian May of Queen

Brian May has been the guitarist for Queen since its inception. Although he dropped out of college to focus on music in the 1970s, he continued to pursue his interest in astronomy, and in 2007 he returned to school to complete his dissertation on interplanetary dust (seriously!). Queen had most of their success in the 1970s and early 1980s, releasing multi-platinum albums such as "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races".

After the death of frontman Freddie Mercury, the band experienced a resurgence in popularity when their song "Bohemian Rhapsody" was featured in the movie "Wayne's World", and in 2004, they began touring again with Paul Rodgers handling the lead singing responsibilities.

Answer: Tom Scholz of Boston

Tom Scholz was the founder of Boston, whose 1976 self-titled album remains one of the best selling albums of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. He earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering in five years at MIT and worked as a product design engineer for Polaroid while pursuing his music career. Boston achieved most of their success in the 1970s and 1980s with hits such as "More Than a Feeling", "Long Time" and "Peace of Mind", but squabbling between band members and the suicide of the lead singer, Brad Delp, have hindered them since that time.

Answer: Gloria Estefan

After graduating from college, Gloria Estefan first found fame with the Miami Sound Machine. Their Latin-flavored hits such as "Conga" and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You" pre-dated the Latin music craze of the late 1990s. Her solo work has included many Spanish language recordings, including songs celebrating her native Cuba, from which her family escaped when she was two years old.

Answer: Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson followed up his studies with a stint in the Army where he rose to the rank of Captain and was offered a teaching position at West Point. He turned it down to pursue a career in music and initially achieved success through other artists' recordings of his songs - most notably, Janis Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee".

His own recordings weren't as well received, although his work with The Highwaymen (a country supergroup consisting of Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson) was very successful.

Besides music, he has also been involved with acting, and he won a Golden Globe award for his work in "A Star is Born".

Answer: Tom Morello

Tom Morello's innovative guitar work gave Rage Against the Machine its distinctive sound and has earned him accolades from "Rolling Stone" and "Guitar World" as one of the top guitarists of all time. He has also worked with Audioslave and as a folk singer under the name The Nightwatchman. The latter is an outlet for his political views which no doubt inspired his choice of major in college.

Remember the MTV claymation show "Celebrity Deathmatch"? One of the funniest matches was Rage Against the Machine versus The Machine. The band didn't fare so well.

Answer: Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger studied finance and accounting in college, believe it or not. Behind his wild persona, there apparently exists a rather smart man. Perhaps that is why the Rolling Stones have been such a profitable touring band for all these years.

While researching this quiz, I came across many musicians who were listed in one source as a college graduate and in another source as a drop-out. The artists above (with the exception of Mr. Jagger) were consistently listed as graduates on their official websites, college alumni sites and in interviews given by the musicians themselves in sources such as "Rolling Stone", VH1 and MTV.