Anton Jones (
Sinhala: ඇන්ටන් ජෝන්ස්; 3 June 1937 – 21 February 2016) was a
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n singer and songwriter.
Considered as a prominent
Baila
Baila (also known as bayila; from the Portuguese verb ''bailar'', meaning ''to dance'') is a form of music, popular in Sri Lanka and among Goan Catholics. The genre originated centuries ago among the Portuguese Burghers and Sri Lankan Kaffirs. B ...
singer in Sri Lanka, Jones had several hits, including ''Mini Gawuma'' and ''Uyala Pihala''.
His songs are composed about special events that took place in this country, thus becoming the only singer who sang from real events.
Personal life
He was born on 3 June 1937 in Colombo to a
Burgher
Burgher may refer to:
* Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn
** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain
** Grand Bu ...
family in
Hulftsdorp
Hulftsdorp (also written, incorrectly as Hultsdorf ) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is part of the postal area known as ''Colombo 12''. It has been known historically as Hulffsdorp, Hulfsdorp, Hulftsdorp, Hulsdorp, Hulstsdorp and Hülffs ...
.
His father was a businessman. He is an alumnus of St. Sebastian Maha Vidyalaya, Hulftsdorp.
He has one elder sister.
For the duration of his musical career, Jones also worked as an English
stenographer for the Bank of Ceylon and private company Julius & Cruise since 1963.
He retired in 1997 completing 35 years of service.
Jones was married to longtime partner Iris Jones. Jones first met Iris at the Talawila Church in 1978. Iris had his education from St. Mary's Convent in Chilaw. They got married on August 31, 1960, at St. Lucia Church, Kotahena. The couple has two sons – Tyrone, Roshan; and two daughters – Roshini and Priyanka.
In 2010, while riding a motorcycle, he lost his left arm and fell off the bike twice. The next morning when he was getting ready to go for the medicine he fell in the bathroom. He was rushed to Nawaloka and received treatment for one week. After seven years of clutches, Jones was admitted to the hospital again on 15 February 2016. He could not eat properly, so depended on drink only. He returned home on 18 February.
However, he died on 21 February 2016 at the age of 79 while receiving treatment at the
Colombo South Teaching Hospital
The Colombo South Teaching Hospital (also called Kalubowila Hospital) is located in Kalubowila, Sri Lanka and mainly targets the treatment of the Dengue virus. It is the second largest hospital in the country. It is a teaching-oriented hospital th ...
in
Kalubowila
Kalubowila is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. The Colombo South Teaching Hospital
The Colombo South Teaching Hospital (also called Kalubowila Hospital) is ...
. His remains were laid to rest at his residence at Kawdana, Dehiwala Road and later moved to National Art Gallery.
Career
He entered music under the guidance of his friend
Wally Bastiansz
Ogustus or Martalanus Bastiansz, better known as 'Wally Bastiansz'' ( Sinhala: වොලී බැස්ටියන්ස්) (died January 10, 1985) was a Sri Lankan singer who developed the style of chorus baila in the 1940s.
Biography
Bas ...
in the early 1950s.
Jones played a member of Bastiansz's band, initially got to join the choir.
In 1958 he performed for the first time in front of a live audience for a
Radio Ceylon
Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...
event with the song ''Kanthoruwa Kanthoruwa''.
Jones had released 37
cassettes and eight CDs and often tackled contemporary events in his songs which include ''Maru Sira'', ''Sepala Ekanayake'', ''Kanthoruwa'', ''Premawathi Manamperi'' and ''Podi Vijay''. He had sung only a single duet in his career, with
Angeline Gunathilake
Angelina Rachel de Lanerolle ( si, ඇන්ජලීන් ගුණතිලක; 23 December 1939 – 29 March 2019), popularly known as Angeline Gunathilake or Anjalin Gunathilaka, was a Sri Lankan singer, primarily working as a playback sin ...
.
Many of his songs were composed by Jones himself. He also composed many of the songs.
His most recent album ''Sebe Siddhi'' discussed the effects of the
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
that hit Sri Lanka.
He also joined the cast with the song ''Komala Papa'' sung for the film ''Ohoma Hondada''.
In December 2015, a tribute ceremony for Jones was organized by the Hanwella Branch of the All Ceylon Middle East Service Organization.
References
External links
ඇන්ටන් ජෝන්ස් lyricsඇන්ටන් ජෝන්ස් සිංදුවලට පාදක වුණු ඉතිහාසයේ නොමැකෙන කතාඇන්ටන් ජෝන්ස් ගැන සමීපතමයන්ගේ හඬ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Anton
20th-century Sri Lankan male singers
1937 births
Burgher musicians
2016 deaths
People from Western Province, Sri Lanka