Inside the Rock Era: Honorary Degrees From The Berklee College Of Music

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Honorary Degrees From The Berklee College Of Music

Berklee College of Music (in Boston, Massachusetts) was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business, leading the way with the world’s first baccalaureate studies in jazz, rock, electric guitar, film scoring, songwriting, turntables, electronic production, and more than a dozen other genres and fields of study. With a diverse and talented student body representing 96 countries, and alumni who have collectively won more than 250 Grammys and Latin Grammys, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today—and tomorrow.

Over the years, the Berklee College of Music has bestowed upon selected artists the title of Honorary Degrees. Here are the ones related to the Rock Era:

1972: Arthur Fiedler

1974: Tony Bennett

1980: John Williams
1983: Quincy Jones

1985: B.B. King
1986: Herbie Hancock

Paul Simon
1987: Phil Ramone
1988: Dave Grusin

1989: George Martin (Beatles Producer)

1990: George Benson

1991: Phil Collins

Ahmet Ertegun (Founder of Atlantic Records)
Al Jarreau
1992: Bonnie Raitt

1993: Billy Joel
Johnny Mandel (composer and arranger who worked with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Peggy Lee, among others)
Janis Siegel (of Manhattan Transfer)
1994: Oleta Adams

1995: Alan & Marilyn Bergman (legendary songwriting team who wrote "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", 'The Way We Were", "The Windmills Of Your Mind", and many others...)

Natalie Cole

           James Taylor
1996: Patti LaBelle
           Pat Metheny
1997: Bruce Cockburn
           Chick Correa

Henry Mancini

1998: Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller (famous songwriting team who wrote several of Elvis Presley's early hits ("Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock", as well as "Stand By Me" for Ben E. King, and "There Goes My Baby", "Ruby Baby", Searchin'" for other artists)

Carly Simon
1999: David Bowie
Wayne Shorter

2000: Herb Alpert
           Patti Austin
           Jennifer Holliday
           Steve Vai
2001: Walter Becker
           Donald Fagen
           Al Kooper
2002: David Foster
2003: Bobby McFerrin
           Steven Tyler
2004: Dennis Chambers (drummer for Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, and George Duke, among others)
           Chaka Khan

2005: Anita Baker

           Steve Gadd (legendary session drummer for Frank Sinatra, the Bee Gees, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, Jim Croce, Michael McDonald, Al Jarreau, Al Di Meola, and Chick Corea, among many others)
           Abe Laboriel, Sr. (drummer with Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Sting, Seal, Steve Vai, B.B. King, and k.d. lang, among others)
           Patrice Rushen
2006: Melissa Etheridge

Aretha Franklin

           Elliot Scheiner (seven-time Grammy Award-winning producer and arranger with the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Paul Simon, Toto, Aerosmith, Faith Hill, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, Bruce Hornsby, Jackson Browne, Sting, the Foo Fighters, Chaka Khan, Van Morrison, B.B. King, Ricky Martin, and Beck, among others)
2007: The Edge
           Emilio Estefan
           Gloria Estefan
2008: Phillip Bailey
           Maurice White

Steve Winwood

2009: Burt Bacharach
Dave Brubeck
Emmylou Harris

Smokey Robinson

Linda Ronstadt

2010: Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff (legendary songwriters and producers for Philadelphia International Records and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, whose credits include "Love Train", "Me and Mrs. Jones", "When Will I See You Again", "If You Don't Know Me By Now", "Back Stabbers", "I Love Music", "Enjoy Yourself", "For The Love Of Money" and "The Love I Lost")
2011: Michael McDonald
Mavis Staples (of the Staple Singers)
2012: George Clinton