Etheridge to Berklee grads: Live for today

Rock songstress Melissa Etheridge urged graduates of Berklee College of Music yesterday not to spend all their time wistfully imagining a future of Grammy awards, platinum records, and legions of screaming fans, but instead to cherish the present.

''We have so many dreams. We live our lives in dreams," she said during the college's commencement ceremony. ''I didn't spend enough time right here, right here in the now."

About 800 graduates and thousands of their relatives and friends packed into Northeastern University's Matthews Arena to celebrate the rite of passage and catch a glimpse of Etheridge and other famous guests -- soul singer Aretha Franklin, saxophonist Andy McGhee, and music producer Elliot Scheiner, who has worked with Fleetwood Mac and R.E.M. Each was awarded an honorary doctorate of music.

During her commencement speech, Etheridge recalled childhood peers who dreamed of being doctors and lawyers while she begged to be taught the drums.

''Bless our parents. Bless their hearts. They had such dreams for us," she said. ''They just want us to have a job."

Etheridge described the moment she fell in love with music, when as a young girl in Leavenworth, Kan., she heard the Beatles song ''I Want To Hold Your Hand" coming from her transistor radio.

''I was never, ever the same," she said. ''I was struck. I wanted that."

Etheridge dropped out of Berklee to pursue her music career halfway through her second semester in 1980 (''You weren't even born yet," she told the graduates.) She sang Barry Manilow covers at a restaurant across from the John Hancock building before moving to California for her big break.

Franklin offered her own words of encouragement after receiving her honorary degree.

''Follow your dreams, follow your heart, and sing yourself," she said. ''Go out there and let them have it."

Cristina Silva can be reached at csilva@globe.com.