Terence Trent D'Arby
| Sananda Maitreya | |
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| Birth name | Terence Trent Howard |
| Also known as |
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| Born |
March 15, 1962 Manhattan, New York, United States |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
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| Website | sanandamaitreya |
Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan, New York, United States on March 15, 1962), better known by his former stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, released in July 1987, which included the singles "Wishing Well" and "Sign Your Name".
Terence Trent D'Arby was born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan in 1962. His mother is Frances Howard Darby, a gospel singer, teacher and counselor; she married Bishop James Benjamin Darby, who became D'Arby's stepfather and raised him, hence "his last name changed and later he completed it with the apostrophe." His biological father was a married man with Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was known to childhood friends as Terry Darby. His family moved successively from New York to New Jersey, to Chicago, to Daytona Beach, and then settled in DeLand, Florida, north of Orlando.
He trained as a boxer in Orlando and in 1980 won the Florida Golden Gloves lightweight championship. He received an offer to attend boxing school in the United States Army, but he went to college instead. He enrolled at the University of Central Florida but quit a year later, enlisting in the U.S. Army. He was posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then served in the 3rd Armored Division, near Frankfurt, West Germany. He was formally court-martialed and dishonorably discharged by the army in April 1983 after going absent without leave. While in West Germany, he also worked as a band leader with the band The Touch, releasing an album of material called Love On Time (1984). It was later re-issued in 1989 as Early Works after his worldwide success as a solo artist. In 1986 he left West Germany for London, where he briefly played with The Bojangles, after which he signed a solo recording deal.
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