Ed Hale

Ed Hale
in the recording studio
Background information
Also known as	Eddie Darling
Born	Paris, France
Genres	Power pop, modern rock, world music
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, peace activist, entrepreneur, writer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass
Labels	Dying Van Gogh Records
Associated acts	Ed Hale and The Transcendence
Website	Official website

Ed Hale is a writer, singer-songwriter-recording artist, musician, populist blogger of the long-running The Transcendence Diaries, social and political activist, and controversial YouTube star currently best known for his last solo album Ballad On Third Avenue and the three hit singles it produced, "I Walk Alone", "New Orleans Dreams" and "Scene in San Francisco", which all landed in the Billboard Top 40 Charts in the Adult Contemporary radio format, and for the eclectic critically acclaimed albums and hit singles of the band Ed Hale and The Transcendence. Hale was formerly known as Eddie Darling throughout the early 1990s, and is the lead singer of the popular American modern rock musical group Ed Hale and The Transcendence, formerly called Transcendence. He also performs, records and releases solo albums. He is currently signed to the Dying Van Gogh record label and the BMG subsidiary label Fieldhouse Music. Hale is frequently referred to as "The Ambassador" by fans and the press, a nickname given him by friend and video-gaming industry maven Michael Nichols due to Hale's penchant for global volunteer and diplomatic travel, exploring other cultures, and for singing in and speaking multiple languages. Along with his native English, Hale speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Hebrew and Persian.

Hale is a second generation American who is half English and half Italian. He was born in Paris, France, while his father was serving in the military. Hale started playing piano on his own at age four, allegedly inspired by seeing the film Sound of Music for the first time. Music would come naturally to Hale, as he comes from a long line of world-class musicians including his great uncle, the beloved Sands Hotel bandleader, producer and arranger Antonio Morelli. However, it has been reported that Hale got his start in music after his mother spoke with psychic Micki Dahne who recommended that she buy her creative yet troubled son a guitar in order to "keep him out of trouble, out of jail, and alive long enough to see his eighteenth birthday". Ed Hale converted to Islam and took the Muslim name of Haafez in order to marry his current wife, former Microsoft Engineer Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai, in a proper Persian ceremony, as she converted to Christianity in order to marry Hale in a traditional Christian ceremony. The singer is candidly open about his Christian faith in interviews and writes about the subject often in his long running blog The Transcendence Diaries.