Background
Elly Wamala was born "Elishama Lukwata Wamala" on 13 December 1935 to sub-county clerk Ignatius Mutambuze and Gladys Nabutiti in Bulucheke, Mbale.
controller musician producer sportsman
Elly Wamala was born "Elishama Lukwata Wamala" on 13 December 1935 to sub-county clerk Ignatius Mutambuze and Gladys Nabutiti in Bulucheke, Mbale.
He studied at Bbira Primary School and later Mackay Primary School After primary school, Wamala joined Mengo Secondary School, before going to Makerere College where he studied linguistics, poetry, and prose.
On 22 August 2004, he succumbed to throat cancer at Mulago hospital. 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 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 (1969), Akaana Ka Kawalya (1974), and Ebinyumu Ebyaffe (1998), among others He was the third of 19 children.
After Makerere, he played the guitar at New Life Bar in Mengo before going to Kenya to study advanced guitar playing at the Nairobi Conservatoire. In Kenya, he led the Sportsman Chachacha Band before going to England.
Wamala returned from Britain with a Banjo Mandolin Guitar diploma.
He also studied television 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 but later succumbed to throat cancer.