Now That’s What I Call an Honorary Graduate §7 - Musical Chairs

A new crop of musical honorary graduates in recent (and a few not quite so recent) ceremonies.

WVU made it a lovely day for Bill Withers when he was awarded an honorary.

It was a case of take a bow Dr Rihanna when she picked up her degree.

Dedicated follower of fashion Ray Davies put on a funny hat and gown when he was honoured by London

And there was a report that the University of Minnesota planned to make an unusual award of a posthumous honorary degree to the late artist Prince.

Prolific musician and producer Pharrell Williams didn’t get lucky but did pick up a richly deserved honorary from NYU

Other big noises collecting honours have included:

Plus some other rather special ones:

Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire – not so much for her musical achievements as for her and the band’s charitable work.
Last year there was the award of an honorary from Coventry University for the remarkable Pauline Black.
Former bassist with The Fall and BBC 6 Music DJ Marc Riley picked up a degree from Salford University.

Then we have a multitalented singing taxman:

It was really a proud moment for ‘Nannilam’ G. Kesavan (46), Inspector of Customs attached to Thoothukudi Custom House, when he got a honorary doctorate from International Tamil University, USA. Speaking to The Hindu here on Thursday, Mr. Kesavan said he received the honorary degree in recognition of his service to Central Excise and Customs Department and his accomplishment in traditional arts and music. He said could sing in ‘108’ different voices”

And finally, my personal favourite, the utterly wonderful Robert Forster of the Go Betweens was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Queensland, years after not quite managing to complete his undergraduate degree.

Which musicians have I missed recently? I’m sure there are many more.