Elly Wamala
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Elly Wamala (13 December 1935 – 22 August 2004) was a
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
n musician. On 22 August 2004, he succumbed to
throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...
at
Mulago Hospital Mulago National Specialised Hospital, also known as Mulago National Referral Hospital, is a component of Mulago Hospital Complex, the teaching facility of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. It is the largest public hospital in U ...
. Wamala was one of Uganda's first musicians to release a recorded song and have it become a commercial hit in the 1950s when he released ''Nabutono''. The song was so successful that it caught the attention of a nation and Kabaka Edward Mutesa II who regularly summoned Wamala to his court to perform the song. After Nabutono, Wamala's next release was ''Josephine'' and it also became a hit. By the time of his death, he had over 60 songs to his name, including ''Nabutono'' produced in 1959, ''Viola'' (1974), ''Welcome
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
'' (1969), ''Akaana Ka Kawalya'' (1974), and ''Ebinyumu Ebyaffe'' (1998), among others.


Early childhood and education

Elly Wamala was born "Elishama Lukwata Wamala" on 13 December 1935 to sub-county clerk Ignatius Mutambuze and Gladys Nabutiti in Bulucheke,
Mbale Mbale is a city in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region. Location Mbale is approximately northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capital city, on ...
. He was the third of 19 children. He was raised in Bulenga on Mityana–Mubende Road, Mityana road, by his paternal uncle, Daniel Katunda. His musical talent was spotted when he was five years old, and his uncle started to call on him to entertain his frequent visitors. He studied at Bbira Primary School and later Mackay Primary School, where the headmaster, Livingstone Semyano, noticed his musical talent and started teaching him how to sing and read music. After primary school, Wamala joined Mengo Secondary School, before going to Makerere College where he studied linguistics, poetry, and prose. After Makerere, he played the guitar at New Life Bar in Mengo, Uganda, Mengo before going to Kenya to study advanced guitar playing at the Nairobi Conservatoire. In Kenya, he led the Sportsman Chachacha Band which was sponsored by the Cigarette makers Sportsman cigarette, Sportsman, before going to England. Wamala returned from United Kingdom, Britain with a Mandolin-banjo, Banjo Mandolin Guitar diploma. He also studied TV production in Wales and on return to Uganda in 1961 worked with the national broadcaster, until 1981 when he retired. Wamala was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2000, and subsequently underwent surgery and 52 weeks of chemotherapy. After the treatment he released what was to be his last album, Ani Yali Amanyi. By then the cancer had spread and he died in 2004. He is survived by a wife and 1
children and a number of grandchildren


Music

Wamala dropped out of school in junior secondary three and started to work at a Kampala music store. He quit and started to work with the then Public Works Department (PWD), and later as a receptionist and resident artiste with Opel Tom Tom, a recording studio in Kampala's industrial area. When Opel Tom Tom closed, Wamala moved to Nairobi where he became a resident guitarist at a commercial recording studio, HiFi. He was picked to lead the Sportsman Cha Cha band, which was sponsored to tour East Africa, promoting Sportsman cigarettes. And in the 1950s, he penned his first song, the playful love song, Nabutono. This song became the first Kadongo Kamu, kadongo kamu song to be recorded on vinyl.


Television

In 1963, Wamala joined Uganda Television (UTV) at its inception. He worked as a producer, senior producer and later as controller of programmes. He also hosted a musical show (Saturday Night with Elly Wamala). In 1966, he studied television production at the Thomson Foundation, Thompson foundation in Glasgow, Scotland. He used that opportunity to be examined by guitarist George Cissily, and obtained a BMG Diploma in plectrum guitar playing, majoring in Synthesizer, finger-board harmony. While at UTV, he took a year off [1968–69] to do a Diploma in Drama at Makerere University. With this skill, he got to appreciate language, prose, and poetry, an attribute that is seen in his compositions. Between 1980 and 1981, Wamala taught television production at the Institute of Public Administration (now Uganda Management Institute). He founded the Mascots band and molded it to become one of the most successful bands in Kampala in the 1980s. Its membership included Kampala lawyer Andrew Kasirye, and singers Tonny Ssenkebejje, Peterson Tusuubira Mutebi, Frank Mbalire and Kabuye Ssembogga.


References


External links


"Fallen artistes remembered""EXCLUSIVE: Elly Wamala Tribute Concert Held In Boston"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wamala, Elly 20th-century Ugandan male singers 1935 births 2004 deaths Kumusha Ugandan musicians