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Upali Kannangara

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Upali Kannangara
උපාලි කන්නංගර
Born(1951-01-05)January 5, 1951
Colombo, Sri Lanka
DiedDecember 12, 2018(2018-12-12) (aged 67)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Occupation(s)Singer, composer, guitarist
SpouseIndrani Boteju [1]
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)Vocals, Guitar
Years active1974–2018
Labels
  • Ransilu
  • Torana
  • Singlanka

Upali Kannangara (5 January 1951 – 12 December 2018: Template:Lang-si), was a Sri Lankan musician, singer and accompanist.[2] Starting as a guitar player, Kannangara became one of the most popular singers in Sri Lanka particularly in the outdoor musicals with popular songs such as Iwasillak Na Dakina Thura, Dumbara Mitiyawatha, Parata Kittuwa and Gele Ranmala.[3]

Personal life

He was born on 5 January 1951 in Colombo.

In December 2018, he was hospitalized due to a heart condition.[4] He was scheduled to undergo surgery on the 3 December, but was postponed due to poor health where both his kidneys and liver worked from machines.[5] He was later transferred to the intensive care unit.[6] On 6 December 2018, he underwent a heart surgery at the Durdans hospital.[7] He died on 12 December 2018 at the age of 67 after the cardiac arrest.[8][9] His remains were laid to rest at his residence at No. 19 / A, 4th Lane, Jambugasmulla, Nugegoda. Funeral service was held at 4.00 pm on 15 December 2018 at the Kohuwala Public Cemetery.[10]

Career

His career spanned nearly a decade and a half as the lead guitarist of the popular band Super Star led by Ernest Soysa since 1974.[11][12] During this period, Kannangara and the Super Stars were the leading band of the "Nandana Vindana" monthly concert produced by Jathika Rupavahini as well as "Madu Rasanga" on ITN Networks.[13] The band was the only band to have four music directors namely Ernest Soysa, Sarath de Alwis, Upali Kannangara and Nesan Thiagarajah. They were the first band to be invited twice overseas in 1975 to perform in Kuwait and Bahrain.[14]

In 1990s, he sang a number of memorable songs and was an indispensable singer on the concert stage for decades.[15] Then he moved over to the Super Fortunes band with Keerthi Pasquel and Ernest Soysa.[16] Some of his most popular songs include, Parata Kittuwa, Gele Ranmala Da, Dumbara Mitiyawatha Madde, Iwasillak Na Dakina Thura and Mage Pabawathiye.[17] When he was at peak, he was invited for more than five outdoor musical shows around the country in one day. After that, he stayed away from local music for a while and went abroad.[18] He was also the music director of the popular television serial Isiwara Wedaduru telecast on Jathika Rupavahini.[19] On 10 December 2006, he staged his own musical show 'Swarna Sarani' at the BMICH. During the event, he also launched his second CD "Randoli" which consisted of sixteen tracks, where the music is played by an orchestra conducted by Ernest Soysa who was a last minute replacement for Cheruka Weerakoon.[16]

In 1984, he made playback singing for the comedy film Kakilley Rajjuruwo directed by Tissa Nagodavithana. Apart from singing, he also composed many popular songs for fellow artists, such as Dasa Ridenawa Para Bala Indala (by Milton Mallawarachchi), Adare Sitha Sanasana Adare (by Keerthi Pasquel), Pem Benda Sith Benda and Nelum Vile Kalum Pera (both songs sung by Chandra Kumara Kandanarachchi).[2] On 7 November 2015, The Super Stars Super Concert Musical Extravaganza was held at the Nelum Pokuna theatre, Colombo at 6.30 p.m to mark the reunion of the original members of the band almost after 25 years.[14] In 2016, he became the music director of the film Weerawarna directed by Shahiru Ranasinghe.[20][21]

Track listing

Parata Kittuwa album included songs [22]
No.TitleLength
1."Parata Kittuwa" (Album Version)03.52
2."Pabawathie" (Album Version)03.51
3."Dumbara Mitiyawatha" (Album Version)04.47
4."Iwasillak Na" (Album Version)04.35
5."Sanda Renu" (Album Version)03.46
6."Mal Wasanthaye" (Album Version)03.16
7."Ganganodare" (Album Version) 
8."Susum Kandulata" (Album Version (duet with Nirosha Virajini)04.02
9."Nidi Nathi Dese" (Album Version)03.50
10."Parasathu Kusume" (Album Version)04.07
11."Sitha Ninnada Deela" (Album Version)04.03
12."Gele Ranmala Da" (Album Version)03.41

References

  1. ^ "Upali Kannangara heart surgery". mirrorarts. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara passes away". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara passes away". newsfirst. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara passes away". Ada Derana. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Upali Kannangara, a humble and beautiful artist, is in a very critical condition". bostonlanka. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Upali Kannangara hospitalized". Hiru FM. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara passes away". Aruna. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara bids farewell". Lankadeepa. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Upali Kannangara completes his life ." lankacnews. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Singer Upali Kannangara passes away". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  11. ^ "The creations that are being created now, will not last". Dinamina. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara dies aged 67". newsfirst. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara passes away". runews. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Throwback to 70s". Daily News. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara's funeral at Kohuwala on the 15th". Divaina. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Swarna Sarani - a worthy fund raiser". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Veteran singer Upali Kannangara passes away". lankapuvath. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Upali Kannangara completes his life journey". srilankans-online.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Upali Kannangara says good bye tomorrow". runews. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Sri Lankan Screened Films". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Weerawarna". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Upali Kannangara also bids farewell". lankanewsweb. Retrieved 11 April 2021.


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