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Attitude Songs
Steve Vai and Jennifer Holliday help welcome Berklee's largest-ever entering class.
By Sarah Godcher
(September 28, 2000)
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Steve Vai |
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Tony Award-winning singer/actress Jennifer Holliday and rock guitar hero and Berklee alumnus Steve Vai '79 received honorary doctor of music degrees during Berklee College of Music's 2000 Entering Student Convocation on September 8.
In accepting their doctorates, the two honorees addressed students and helped welcome the class of 2004, Berklee's largest-ever entering class, with over 900 students from 75 countries. Some of the college's most outstanding current students also welcomed new students with a concert featuring the music of the two honorary doctorate recipients, including a medley of Vai's "The Attitude Song" and "For the Love of God," as well as Holliday's Grammy Award-winning "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going."
President Lee Eliot Berk recounted many of Holliday's and Vai's impressive accomplishments as he presented each with their degrees. Holliday won both a Grammy and a Tony Award in 1982 for her role in the Broadway hit "Dreamgirls," and earned a second Grammy in 1985 for her rendition of Ellington's classic "Come Sunday." Since 1996 she has had a recurring role on TV's "Ally McBeal," and this fall she made her film debut in "The Rising Place," which was featured in the Boston Film Festival 2000.
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Student Daisuke Kunita (foreground) and faculty member Jon Finn shred a few bars. |
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Since winning her own battle with clinical depression, Holliday has devoted much of her time to educating and supporting people struggling with the illness. For the past two years, she has served as keynote speaker for Berklee's annual depression awareness event. President Berk cited her tireless efforts in this regard as he presented Holliday with the honorary doctorate.
In accepting the degree, Holliday urged students to make personal and emotional happiness their most important goal. "As you begin your journey I encourage you to make peace with your gift early on and to not just see it as a way to make money," she said. "See it as a way to be a bright light in your life and in your own world."
Vai's astonishing technical wizardry and hard-rock sensibilities have propelled him to hero status in the world of rock guitar. Shortly after leaving Berklee in 1979, he began his distinguished career as a guitarist for the legendary Frank Z appa. From this auspicious beginning, he went on to perform with David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Joe Jackson, and others. He also released a series of solo albums, including "Alien Love Secrets" and "Passion and Warfare," that have become both critical and cult favorites, inspiring legions of devoted fans around the world.
Vai addressed students after accepting his honorary degree, fondly recalling his time at the college. "My years at Berklee are probably the most cherished memories I have," Vai said. "You've got so much here. It really gives you the opportunity to create a community of musicianship that you won't find out there in the world." Vai said the friends he made at Berklee (notable among them is bassist Stu Hamm '80) have remained with him his entire life.
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Jennifer Holliday |
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Vai also thanked his parents for their longtime support of his musical career, starting with their ignoring neighbors' requests to turn down the volume on young Steve's amplifier. As Vai grew up, his parents continued to encourage his musical pursuits. "My father actually sold his life insurance policy so that I could come to this school," Vai told students.
Immediately following the Convocation ceremony, Berklee students and faculty paid tribute to Holliday and Vai by performing some of the songs that have played a pivotal role in the careers of each. Vocalist Rhea Dummett of Ontario, Canada, brought the audience to its feet with a rendition of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," from the musical "Dreamgirls." Faculty member Jon Finn and student guitarist Daisuke Kunita of Sapporo, Japan, did justice to Vai's blazing guitar opus "The Attitude Song/For the Love of God."
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A Dreamgirl's Boston Holiday
Two decades after launching a Broadway success near Berklee, vocalist Jennifer Holliday returns to town to start writing the next chapter in her career. |
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Opening Your Musical Mind
Jennifer Holliday draws up a lengthy listening list for aspiring vocal performers. |
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Rock Guitar's Top Gun
For rock's reigning guitar hero Steve Vai '79, music comes from the heart and mind . . . with an edge. |
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