Elly Wamala was a Ugandan musician. 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 II 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, Welcome Pope Paul VI, Akaana Ka Kawalya, and Ebinyumu Ebyaffe, among others.