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 ...

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 Mityana is a town in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mityana District, as well as the location of the district headquarters. Location Mityana is approximatel ...

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 Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

where he studied

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

. After Makerere, he played the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

New Life Bar New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

in Mengo before going to

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

to study advanced guitar playing at the Nairobi Conservatoire. In

, he led the Sportsman Chachacha Band which was sponsored by the Cigarette makers Sportsman, before going to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Wamala returned from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

with a

Banjo Mandolin The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid instrument, combining a banjo body with the neck and tuning of a mandolin. It is a soprano banjo. It has been independently invented in more than one country, variously being called mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, ...

Guitar diploma. He also studied

TV production Video production is the process of producing video content. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard drives, SSDs, ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and on return to Uganda in 1961 worked with the national broadcaster, until 1981 when he retired. Wamala was diagnosed with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

in 2000, and subsequently underwent surgery and 52 weeks of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. 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 Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

music store. He quit and started to work with the then Public Works Department (PWD), and later as a

receptionist A receptionist is an Employment, employee taking an office or Business administration, administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting room, waiting area such as a Lobby (room), lobby or front office desk of an organ ...

and resident artiste with Opel Tom Tom, a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

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 East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, promoting Sportsman

cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

. And in the 1950s, he penned his first song, the playful love song, Nabutono. This song became the first

kadongo kamu Kadongo Kamu is a music genre native to Uganda and is the oldest mainstream music genre in the country. The word "kadongo kamu" is a term in the Ganda language that means "one little guitar". History Perhaps the first well-known artist of the ...

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 Thompson foundation in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He used that opportunity to be examined by guitarist George Cissily, and obtained a BMG Diploma in plectrum guitar playing, majoring in finger-board harmony. While at UTV, he took a year off 968–69to do a Diploma in Drama at

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

. 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 Uganda Management Institute (UMI) is a government-owned national center for training, research, and consultancy in the field of management and administration in Uganda. It is one of the nine public universities and degree-awarding institutions in ...

). 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