Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Jayaratne, also known as T.M. Jayaratne ( Sinhala:ටි.එම්.ජයරත්න) (born 13 April 1944) in Dodangoda,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

is a popular Sri Lankan

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and a violinist. He has received the Presidential Award of Sri Lanka in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1987. In 2006 Jayaratne was awarded the best male singer award at the Raigam Tele Award Festival.

Life and career

Overview

Jayaratne studied at prestigious

St.Anthony's College , motto_translation = Light From Heaven , patron = Saint Anthony of Padua , religion = Roman Catholic , founder = Felice Alexander Zoppi , established = 1854 , type ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

and

Maliyadeva College ''විද්‍යා භූෂනං පුරුෂ භූෂනම්'' ''Vidya Bhūshanam Purusha Bhūshanam'' , motto_translation = Science is the jewel of man , location = Negombo Rd, Kurunegala , city ...

in Kurunegala. 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''. At present, he has given his golden voice to 79 films. Among these films, Bambaru Awith of

Dharmasena Pathiraja Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘''enfant terrible'' of the '70s', and ...

and Hansa Vilak of

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake Dr. Dharmasiri Bandaranayake (born 06th of October 1949) is a Sri Lankan film director and playwright. Particularly work as a playwright, Bandaranayake is an artist who attempts to connect the sociopolitical environment with the civil society thr ...

are considered as the best ever films in Sri Lankan history. In 1980 Jayaratne dueted with Sunila Abeysekera on "Hemin Sare Piya Vida" for the movie ''Hansa Vilak''. The song was written by

with music by Premasiri Khemadasa and became a popular song in Sri Lanka. His duets with

Neela Wickramasinghe Visharada Dona Delicia Neela Wickramasinghe ( si, නීලා වික්‍රමසිංහ; 30 March 1950 – 17 January 2022), popularly as Neela Wickramasinghe, was a Sri Lankan songstress, teacher, playback singer and musician. A four-t ...

also became hugely popular hits. Also he has composed music for some songs but he achieved fame as a talented vocalist.

Personal life

Jayaratne is married to Malini Jayaratne and has two children. His son Isuru Jayarathne is also a singer.

External links

T.M Jayarathna LyricsT.M Jayarathna SongsT.M Jayarathna Albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayaratne, T. M. 1944 births Living people 20th-century Sri Lankan male singers Alumni of Maliyadeva College Sinhalese singers