Clarence Wijewardena

Clarence Wijewardena ක්ලැරන්ස් විජේවර්ධන
A promotional photo of Clarence from 1990s
Born	Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena (1943-08-03)3 August 1943 Brampton Estate Haputale, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
Died	13 December 1996(1996-12-13) (aged 53) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Resting place	Kanatte Cemetery
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Education	Weeraparakrama College Yatawatta Highland College Hatton
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, music director
Years active	1965–1996
Spouse	Sheela Ramadasa
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Pop Playback singing Sri Lankan music Soft Rock
Instruments	Vocals Electric guitar
Labels	Sooriya Lotus Sarasavi Supertone Victory Singha Tharanga Singlanka Torana
Musical artist
Signature

Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena JP (Sinhala: ක්ලැරන්ස් විජේවර්ධන, Tamil: கிளாரன்ஸ் விஜேவர்தன; 3 August 1943 – 13 December 1996), known professionally as Clarence Wijewardena, was a Sri Lankan singer, composer and musician.^[1] Considered one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka,^[2] Wijewardena revolutionized Sri Lankan Sinhala Pop Music with the use of the electric guitar in Sinhala music, in the 1960s.^[3] Due to his influence on Sinhala pop music, he is often named as the "father of Sri Lankan pop music".^[4]