15 famous singers and musicians from SEC schools

Maybe the SEC should change “It Just Means More” branding to “It Just Rocks More.” Some amazing musicians have come through schools now part of the Southeastern Conference, famous for its college football prowess and now a basketball force. Below are 15 famous and/or notable artists – one from each college – from schools currently in the SEC.

Janis Joplin, University of Texas

The electrifying Janis Joplin is the greatest female singer in rock history – and one of rock’s greatest singers, period. Before going on to sing hippie-era anthems like “Piece of My Heart” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” Joplin attended University of Texas in the early 1960s. She sang blues and folk music around Austin, too. Back then Texas was part of college athletics’ since-defunct Southwest Conference. But since Texas joined the SEC in 2024, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joplin is now eligible for our list. Conference expansion has its benefits.

Stephen Stills, University of Florida

Stephen Stills was enrolled at University of Florida — though his time there was reportedly “very brief” — before fate beckoned. On vocals, guitar and songwriting, Stills helped power three all-time bands: Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Stills is the man behind iconic songs like “”For What It’s Worth” and “Love The One You’re With.” He’s also a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (with Buffalo Springfield and CSN).

Lyle Lovett, Texas A&M University

Singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and won four. Lovett graduated from Texas A&M in 1979, studying language and journalism. While at A&M, he booked musicians to perform at a local coffeehouse. In a 2024 interview for the university’s website, Lovett recalled sitting outside his dorm and playing music with fellow students. “Getting to know people who played guitar, that’s one of the best reasons to play music,” he said. “To sit and play with somebody who could show you something — it’s a wonderful, social thing to do.”

Darius Rucker, University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina is integral to Darius Rucker’s backstory. The soulful singer cofounded Hootie and the Blowfish while a student at USC. That pop-rock band’s 1994 debut album “Cracked Rear View” sold more than 20 million units, on the strength of hits like “Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be With You.” In the late 2000s, Rucker shifted to a solo country music career. He became a star there too, with hits like “Wagon Wheel” and “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” He’s since been enshrined on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But Rucker never forgot where he came from. There’s a tattoo of USC’s gamecock mascot on his left bicep.

Eddie Hinton, University of Alabama

Muscle Shoals session musician Eddie Hinton’s snaky guitar can be heard on recordings by Wilson Pickett, Staple Singers, Cher and many others. With his down-home howl, Hinton was a formidable singer too, as heard on cult classic solo album “Very Extremely Dangerous.” He also wrote or co-wrote notable songs, like Dusty Springfield classic “Breakfast in Bed.” Hinton was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2018. Before all that, he attended the University of Alabama for three years, where he was in the ROTC drum and bugle corps.

R.E.M., University of Georgia

R.E.M. was formed by Georgia students Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry. On April 5, 1980, the band played their first show, which included a cover of Sex Pistols song “God Save The Queen,” at a friend’s birthday party held at an old church building in Athens. The next day, Georgia’s football team signed Herschel Walker. That year, freshman phenom running back Walker led the Bulldogs to an undefeated championship season. Coincidence? Either way, R.E.M. later took alternative-rock to the masses and eventually the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with hits like “The One I Love” and “Losing My Religion.”

Glen Ballard, University of Mississippi

Glen Ballard famously produced and cowrote “Jagged Little Pill.” The Grammy-winning 1995 Alanis Morissette album boasted hits like “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket” and “Ironic.” He produced Dave Matthews Bands chart-topping 2001 album “Everyday,” too. A mid-1970s Ole Miss grad, Ballard cowrote number-one hits for the likes of Michael Jackson (1987’s “Man in the Mirror”) and Wilson Phillips (1990’s “Hold On”), as well as 1997 Aerosmith smash “Pink.” Ole Miss inducted him into their alumni hall of fame in 2008.

Keith Wallen, University of Tennessee

Breaking Benjamin have sold around 20 million records in the U.S. The Pennsylvania band’s songs, including rock radio hits “Breath” and “The Diary of Jane,” have been streamed more than a billion times on Spotify. In 2014, when Breaking Benjamin got back together after a hiatus, the band added Keith Wallen on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Prior to that, Wallen was with Adelitas Way, Las Vegas rockers who toured with Guns N’ Roses and Creed. Earlier, he attended University of Tennessee, where Wallen formed the band Copper, who toured with bands like 30 Seconds to Mars and Shinedown. Wallen’s first album with Breaking Benjamin, 2015’s “Dark Before Dawn,” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.

Jimmy Buffett, Auburn University

In the mid-1960s, the future major of “Margaritaville” attended Auburn for a year before failing out. Jimmy Buffett then sauntered off to a Mississippi junior college and eventually Southern Miss. Buffett eventually bloomed into a songwriter whose strummy tunes magnetized millions of “Parrothead” followers, made millions of bucks and seeded a beach-centric business empire. He didn’t return to Auburn until a 1979 concert. During that concert he quipped about his 0.32 GPA at AU. Buffett, who died in 2023, made the Plains a regular tour stop in the ‘80s and ‘90s, performing flip-flop classics like “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”

Glenn Kotche, University of Kentucky

The heartbeat for indie-rock lords Wilco. Glenn Kotche has been the drummer for every Wilco album since 2002’s genre-defining “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” including Grammy-winning 2004 disc “A Ghost is Born.” Back in the day, Kotche attended Kentucky specifically to study under professor of percussion Jim Campbell. According to the university’s website, Kotche performed in the school’s marching and pep bands and graduated with a fine arts degree in 1994.

Sheryl Crow, University of Missouri

Before her ‘90s-defining pop-rock hits like “All I Wanna Do” and “If It Makes You Happy,” Sheryl Crow graduated from Mizzou in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in music education. Along the way to stardom, Crow was an elementary school music teacher, did a McDonald’s jingle, and was a backup singer for Michael Jackson. In 2023, Crow was inducted into the Rock Hall — the year after a Missouri campus performance and rehearsal hall was renamed in her honor.

Bill Conti, Louisiana State University

LSU has produced an interesting array of musicians, from ‘90s alt-rock hitmakers Better Than Ezra to contemporary Christian superstar Lauren Daigle. But none have made a pop-culture dent like Bill Conti. Conti composed music for “Rocky,” the Academy Award winning 1976 boxing drama that made Sylvester Stallone a movie star. The Conti-composed “Rocky” theme “Gonna Fly Now” won an Oscar too. It also became an unlikely chart-topping single. Conti’s score for 1983 astronaut film “The Right Stuff” earned him another Academy Award. His credits also include blockbusters like “The Karate Kid,” numerous “Rocky” sequels and 1981 James Bond film “For Your Eyes Only.”

Jimbo Mathus, Mississippi State University

As singer guitarist with Squirrel Nut Zippers, Jimbo Mathus scored a platinum album. Thanks to the unlikely swing revival, the band’s 1996 album “Hot” featuring the single “Hell” spent more than half the year on the Billboard 200, cresting at 27. That decade, Squirrel Nut Zippers also toured with Neil Young and performed at Bill Clinton’s second presidential inauguration. After the band split around 2000, Mathus went on to tour and record on guitar with blues great Buddy Guy, including Guy’s 2023 Grammy-winning album “Blues Singer.”

Chris Stapleton, Vanderbilt University

When Chris Stapleton moved from his family’s rural Kentucky home to Nashville in 1996, it wasn’t in search of a music career. It was to study biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University. But after a year at Vandy, his heart wasn’t in it. Stapleton then returned to Kentucky, started writing music and performing in local bars while working day jobs like selling cars and slinging pizzas. By 2001, he was back in Nashville. Now, his songs got recorded for No. 1 hits by stars like Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan. After a stint with bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, Stapleton finally hit paydirt as a solo artist. His 2015 release “Traveller” was a commercial and critical smash and remains that era’s quintessential Americana album.