T. M. Jayaratne
| T.M. Jayaratne | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Jayaratne |
| Born | 13 April 1944 |
| Origin | Dodangoda, Sri Lanka |
| Genres | Sri Lankan music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1970 – Present |
Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Jayaratne, also known as T.M. Jayaratne (Sinhala:ටි.එම්.ජයරත්න) (born 13 April 1944) in Dodangoda, Sri Lanka is a popular Sri Lankan singer.
He has received the Presidential Award in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1987. In 2006 Jayaratne was awarded the best male singer award at the Raigam Tele Award Festival.
Jayaratne was born in Dodangoda, Sri Lanka. He pursued higher learning at St. Anthony's College, Kandy and subsequently Maliyadeva College. As a teenager Jayaratne trained as a violinist.
In 1966 Jayaratne began work as a music teacher at the Hewavitharana Maha Vidyalaya in Rajagiriya. He was drawn into singing by the head of the Folk and Research unit at the Broadcasting Corporation C.J.S. Kulathilaka who asked him to vocalise several Sinhala folk songs that included "Gana Thel Sadun" to be broadcast over the radio. He recorded his first song in 1970.
Jayaratne debuted as a playback singer with "Lahiru Dahasak" written by Sunil Ariyarathne and composed by Premasiri Khemadasa. In 1978 he released his first cassette Tharanga Volume - 01.
In 1980 Jayaratne dueted with Sunila Abeysekera on "Hemin Sare Piya Vida" for the movie Hansa Vilak. The song was written by W. Jayasiri with music by Khemadasa and became a popular song in Sri Lanka. His duets with Neela Wickramasinghe also became hugely popular hits.
Jayaratne is married to Malini Jayaratne and has two children. His son Isuru jayarathne is also a singer.
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