VIDEO: Aretha Franklin Receives Honorary Doctorate at Harvard; Sings National Anthem
American singer and musician Aretha Franklin, who received an honorary degree at Harvard University's 2014 Commencement, opened the Morning Exercises in Tercentenary Theatre with a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as she sang and played piano. Watch her performance below!
Franklin -- "The Queen of Soul" -- can now add "doctorate" to her list of accolades. The singer signed with Atlantic Records in 1967 and rose to worldwide acclaim with singles such as "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and more. She left Atlantic for Arista Records in 1979 and put out the albums Jump to It and Who's Zoomin' Who?. She later performed in place of Luciano Pavarotti at the 1998 GRAMMY Awards ceremony and released "A Rose Is Still a Rose" later that year. Franklin has won a total of 18 GRAMMY Awards and is one of the best-selling female artists of all time. She has also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
