Darling was born on March 4, 1941, in
Elkhart, Indiana. He was interested in music from an early age, beginning piano when he was four, cello at ten, and string bass in high school. He studied classical cello at
Indiana State University and after graduating remained there another four years as a teacher. He worked as a
studio musician in Nashville, Tennessee and was a member of the
Paul Winter Consort until 1978. During the following year, he was part of the
chamber jazz group Gallery with
Ralph Towner and released his first solo album, Journal October. In 2007 he recorded
The Darling Conversations, with Julie Weber discussing his music philosophy. It was issued by Manifest Spirit Records. In January 2009, Darling released the Grammy-winning
Prayer for Compassion, a follow-up of his earlier
8-String Religion, both on the Curve Blue label. ==Other activities==