Paul McCartney has won many awards and honors in his time. He’s been knighted by the Queen, won Grammies, humanitarian awards, and is easily one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world. And, amazingly, Sir Paul managed to achieve all of these things without the benefit of university degree. But Yale University decided it was time to rectify this omission once and for all.
On Monday, the former Beatle was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in music from Yale University. The Yale faculty pointed out that no single songwriter could compare with McCartney’s hundreds of classic tunes. As a musician, singer and songwriter, McCartney virtually has no equal. His self-penned song “Yesterday” is the most recorded tune of all time, and his back catalogue boasts hundreds of chart toppers and critically acclaimed songs.
McCartney was made a Knight of the British Realm in 1996 by Queen Elizabeth II, joining Elton John, Anthony Hopkins and other world-famous entertainers who have received the honor. And at 65, McCartney is still pushing boundaries and releasing critically acclaimed albums, proving that he’s not simply resting on his many laurels
and accolades.
In bestowing the honorary Doctor of Music degree, Yale University said that Sir Paul had “awakened” an entire generation of music lovers, and breathed fresh life into the well-worn rock, and rhythm and blues genres.
Yale University also played host to another famous Brit over the weekend: former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was chosen to give the commencement address for this year’s graduating class. The Yale Daily News reported that Sir Paul McCartney, Tony Blair and Yale University President Richard Levin were spotted having dinner together on Sunday night.
The following day at his commencement speech, former Prime Minister Blair mentioned the dinner with Sir Paul McCartney while encouraging students to persevere in times of hardship. Blair noted that “the first record company the Beatles approached rejected them as a band no one would want to listen to.”
Yale has a long history of awarding honorary degrees, usually during their commencement events. But unlike many “fly-by-night” institutions, Yale is not known for simply handing out honorary doctorates simply because a person is famous, or has achieved notoriety in some way. The governing board of the university is notoriously picky when choosing honorary degree recipients. Thus, an honorary degree from Yale is certainly an accolade worth boasting about.
But even with Yale’s stringent standards about awarding honorary doctorates, there is likely no better suited recipient of the degree than Sir Paul McCartney. His body of work, and decades of involvement in humanitarian causes make Sir Paul worthy of the highest honor any university could bestow — even Yale.
