![Musicians Who Succeeded Without Graduating High School](http://townsquare.media/site/922/files/2019/08/RS7473_160480397.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Musicians Who Succeeded Without Graduating High School
If you want to be a musician, you should devote everything you have to it . . . but it's also a good idea to get a good education, because you might need it someday.
--Of course, there are plenty of musicians who did just fine without one. Spinner.com put together a gallery of 18 of them who didn't even finish high school . . . the ones with so-called "interesting stories."
--Here's the list, and a quick note on what happened.
--Ringo Starr . . . Fell behind after spending two years in the hospital for a lung disease.
--Frank Sinatra . . . Was expelled for "rowdiness" after just 47 days of high school.
--Jay-Z . . . Moved around to several high schools, but never graduated.
--Cher . . . Quit high school after struggling with dyslexia, which was undiagnosed.
--Eric Clapton . . . Studied "stain-glass design," but was expelled for not turning in assignments.
--B.B. King . . . Had to walk five miles to school, and eventually stopped going.
--Davy Jones . . . Left high school to train to become a professional jockey.
--Angus Young of AC/DC . . . Dresses like a schoolboy, but stopped being an ACTUAL schoolboy when he was 15.
--Ella Fitzgerald . . . After her mother died, she quit school and became a, quote, "lookout for a whorehouse."
--Elton John . . . Dropped out when he was 17 to focus on music.
--Eminem . . . Dropped out at 17, after being the victim of "constant bullying."
--Ja Rule . . . He got his G.E.D. in prison earlier this year. By the way, not everyone would classify Ja Rule as someone who "succeeded."
--John Lee Hooker . . . He was home-schooled, but ran away when he was 15. He became a star without being able to read.
--Barry White . . . He stopped going to school and got involved with a gang. He also went to prison after being caught stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.
--Kurt Cobain . . . He was bullied in high school, and dropped out a few weeks before graduating. He later returned to school . . . as the janitor.
--Mary J. Blige . . . Dropped out her junior year.
--Sammy Davis Jr. . . . He never attended school, thanks to his dad's career in entertainment as a tap dancer.
--Steve Earle . . . Dropped out his junior year.
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