According to his autobiography No Regrets, founding KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley challenged the other members of the band to IQ tests. He never divulged what Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss scored, but claimed his IQ to be 163. He did say he believed Stanley’s was the lowest of the four.
In the States, the average IQ is currently around 97.4, according to a 2022 report by the National Library of Medicine. The lowest-scoring state is New Mexico (95) and the highest is New Hampshire (103.2). Canada’s average IQ is 99.5, good enough for 16th in the world. The U.S. is 28th. But they have won 400 Nobel prizes and we’ve had just 28. Worldwide, IQs are usually measured out from 100. There are around a dozen different tests, but IQ society Mensa focuses on three of them. Typically an IQ score of 131 is considered that of a genius, while scoring under 70 might indicate impairment. In order to be a member of Mensa, you need a score of 132 on the Stanford–Binet test, 148 for the Cattell test, and 130 on either of the Wechsler tests. The bottom line is you need to be in the 98th percentile to be offered membership.
Many of the things you’d associate with affecting IQ are probably obvious to you — like overall well-being, education, prosperity and health. But there’s two factors which struck me as interesting. One is conservatism. States with higher levels of conservatism have lower IQs. The other is alcoholism. States with higher alcoholism also have HIGHER IQs, surprisingly. Perhaps this explains Ace Frehley, who’s from New York. Go back 100 years in New York State and there’s been 15 Democrat governors and five Republicans.
So, I decided I would go looking for rock’s geniuses, and see how they compare against the incredible mind of the Space Ace. Queen guitarist Brian May is brilliant. He has published several physics papers, contributed to the New Horizon probe mission to Pluto and has a Ph.D in astrophysics. Dr. Brian May has an IQ of 180.
Colombian singer, songwriter, socio-political influencer, philanthropist, humanitarian and business woman, Shakira (Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) is one of the most successful artists of all time. She’s also a genius with an IQ of 140. Another major star, Madonna (Madonna Louise Ciccone) also has an IQ of 140. In addition to being one of the biggest pop stars of all time, she is a shrewd business woman with a chain of fitness centres, five different fashion brands, an entertainment company/record label, a publishing company, and two charitable foundations.
When you think of those two, you might also think of Lady Gaga. But Stephani Germanotta’s IQ is even more impressive. Accomplished? Gaga has a mountain of awards: 13 Grammys, an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA Award, three Brit Awards, and set 16 Guinness World Records. She’s given away or raised millions for disaster relief chairites and is an activist for LGBTQ rights, animal rights and anti-censorship. Her IQ is 166. Singer Ke$ha‘s IQ has been reported to be 140, according to Seventeen magazine.
Composer, musician and vocalist Frank Zappa seemed to say something profoundly clever every time he opened his mouth. He also created incredible pieces of music and fought hard against censorship. His IQ was said to be 172 — 12 higher than that of Albert Einstein.
Founder, songwriter and guitarist of Boston, Tom Sholz, has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and — before starting the band — worked as a senior design engineer for Polaroid. The famous Boston debut record was mostly recorded in his home using equipment he designed and built. After the band fizzled out he started his own company to market these inventions and holds several patents.
Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello is a nonsectarian socialist political activist. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and has an IQ of 148. Or maybe you have the album Milo Goes To College in your collection. Well, Descendents lead vocalist Milo Aukerman has a Ph.D in biochemistry and an IQ of 140. Offspring singer Dexter Holland says the band’s popularity got in the way of him obtaining his Ph.D in molecular biology, which he has since obtained. He has an IQ of 160.
So, next time you’re picking your rock ’n’ roll trivia team, check with me first.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
