Clarence Wijewardena
| Clarence Wijewardena | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena 3 August 1943 Brampton Estate Haputale, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) |
| Died | 13 December 1996 (aged 53) |
| Cause of death | Diabetes |
| Resting place | Borella cemetery |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Education | Highland College Hatton Mahasen College Yatawatta |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, Record producer, Music director |
| Years active | 1965–1996 |
| Spouse(s) | Ramadasa Widanelage Sheela |
| Children | Amila Priyadarshani Wijewardena |
| Parent(s) |
Dr Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Authur George Wijewardena (father) Ekanayake Mudiyanselage Soma Kumari Hami (mother) |
| Musical career | |
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Vithana Kuruppu-Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena (popularly and commonly known as Clarence Wijewardena;Sinhalese: ක්ලැරන්ස් විජේවර්ධන; August 3, 1943 – December 13, 1996) was one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka, as per his popularity and contribution to revolutionize the Srilankan Sinhala Pop Music Industry who pioneered the use of electric guitar in Sinhala music. This was in the 1960s and is often named as the god-father of Sri Lankan pop music - having influenced performers in ranging from W. D. Amaradeva, Premasiri Khemadasa to Athula Adhikari. His music is often characterized by simple melodies built around a melody that features the electric guitar - this style may be best illustrated by the song Malata Bambaraku Se.
Clarence Wijewardena was born on 3 August 1943, in Haputale, Sri Lanka, to an estate medical practitioner. His family moved to Batugedara, Ratnapura, and Clarence abandoned a career as a budding planter to pursue music full-time. He married Sheela Ramadasa and they had one daughter, Amila Priyadarshani.
Wijewardena formed the Moonstones at the age of 21 with Annesley Malewana as lead vocalist. Managed by an advertising icon, Sri Sangabo Corea, the group recorded several songs to be aired on the Saturday Star program in 1966. The young musicians were mentored by Sri Sangabo Corea together with veteran Radio Ceylon/SLBC broadcasters Vernon Corea and Vijaya Corea. Their 1968 debut EP Mango Nanda was released on the JVPC007 Philips label selling up to 5,000 copies. It included the songs "Mango Nanda," "Ruwan Puraya," "Seetha Ude" and "Menike." The sophomore release More Hits by the Moonstones came out November that year on the Sooriya label and included the hits "Kalu Mama", "Rosa male", "Ramani" and "Goyam Kapanawa." "Mango Nanda" was selected the best Sinhala song by the Hit Parade program on Radio Ceylon. In 1969, the Moonstones welcomed female vocalist Indrani Perera who sang lead on the best selling "Dilhani." Wijewardena himself only sang lead on "Dileepa Podi Puthu," an adaptation of a poem written by Karunarathne Abesekara to his son.
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Wikipedia