Gerald Wickremesooriya was the founder of the Sooriya Record label that produced many popular hits from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
11 Facts About Gerald Wickremesooriya
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Gerald Wickremesooriya was born in 1920 at Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka.
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In 1948 Gerald Wickremesooriya started his career in the Plantation sector by joining EPA Bogala Estates Ltd.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya popularized Sinhala pop music amongst a widely western speaking audience.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya was able to recognize and pick talent and transform them into stars in the Sinhala Pop scene: Golden Chimes, Mendis Foursome along with Maxwell Mendis, Stanley Peiris and The Fortunes and produced countless hit songs for which Sooriya is well known today.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya was bold enough to produce Tamil pop music when it was not in vogue.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya fused instruments used in Hindu temple rituals with electrified music of the Sinhala pop idiom, synthesized the sounds of local Drum Rhythms with that of a symphony written by Winston Jayawardena, recorded and produced Nurthi Gee and brought to life Tower Hall music in an era when this music was unheard amongst the public.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya pioneered in offering royalties for music creators under the Intellectual Property Rights in Sri Lanka's music industry, which was unheard of in the 1980s.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya lost his vision completely in 1981 due to a failed cataract operation.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya contributed to the Sri Lanka Council for the Blind, while his wife Dulcie continued to look after the interests of Sooriya.
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Gerald Wickremesooriya died on 9 January 2006 at the age of 86.