Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena JP (, ; 3 August 1943 – 13 December 1996), known professionally as Clarence Wijewardena, was a Sri Lankan singer, composer and musician. Considered one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka, Wijewardena revolutionized Sri Lankan Sinhala Pop Music with the use of the electric guitar in Sinhala music, in the 1960s. Due to his influence on Sinhala pop music, he is often named as the "father of Sri Lankan pop music".

Personal life

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 budding career as a planter to pursue music full-time. He completed education from Weeraparakrama College, Yatawatta and Hatton Highland College.

He married Sheela Ramadasa and they had one daughter, Amila Priyadarshani.

Wijewardena died on 13 December 1996, at the age of 53, in Sri Lanka after a long struggle against ruptured gastric ulcers and gangrene due to acute diabetes. It included the songs Mango Nanda, Ruwan Puraya, Seetha Ude and Menike. Their second release "More Hits by the Moonstones" came out in November that year, on the Sooriya label and included the hits Kalu Mama, Rosa Male, Ramani and Goyam Kapanawa. In 1969, the Moonstones welcomed female vocalist Indrani Perera who sang lead on the best selling hit Dilhani. Wijewardena himself only sang lead on Dileepa Podi Puthu an adaptation of a poem written by Karunaratne Abeysekera to his son. Clarence offered him another all-time hit Tikirimalee with Ma Mulin Liyu Pem Pathe, Desa Vidala, Bambaraku Aduna, Sarojini and Iru Dina Pamanak. including Desa Piyagath Kala sung by Jackson Anthony and George Senanayake. During this time he got the opportunity to compose and direct music for maestro W. D. Amaradeva for the song Sasara Gewa Yana which contained in serial Nidikumba Mal directed by Sydney Chandrasekara. He also composed and music directed the song Daesawan Dase which says about child abuse and other prohibited things happen in present society. The song was contained in the "Sihiwatana II" cassette. When the Royal Tusker of the Temple of Tooth Relic Raja died, he composed and music directed a song about the royal tusker and it was named as Kandu Sikarin Wata Senkadagala Pura. It was vocalized by the Ananda Perera who was the leader of the Siha Shakthi music band. hoping to recover a portion of the income earned through the use of her late husband's work. An action doomed to failure due to the non-availability of evidence on the part of the complainant. Since the lawsuit against Rajiv and Sarath Kothalawela, Sheela filed a wrongful lawsuit against Annesley Malawana and lost it with no recourse. To this date, she has been unable to establish her rightful claims as the legitimate or legal heir to his intellectual property.

Legacy

Many of his songs are considered classics, and continue to enjoy ample airtime on Sri Lankan television and radio broadcasts and on some overseas radio stations. The songs such as Rasa Pirunu Katha, Geeyakin Kese, Eatha Ran Wiman Yowun Sihina Loke, etc. are very popular among present generation which again demonstrated his talent in composing music (also as a lyricist) for the future.

A biographical film based on the musical life of Clarence, titled Rhythm of the Guitar: Clarence played by Damith Wijayathunga, was released on 27 June 2025 which was directed by Theja Iddamalgoda.

References

<!--Do not list unsuitable contents here. Social media, blogs and websites which are not signify the subject and do not support the subject as reliable sources are not allowed to be appeared within the name space.-->

  • A name etched in memory
  • An essay on Clarence Wijewardena
  • Lanka’s pop pioneer – The 66th birth anniversary of Clarence Wijewardena – August 3
  • Clarence Wijewardena Guitar Chords
  • Clarence Wijewardena song list