death_date years_active image_size article_title name background birth_date genre image origin birth_name occupation
11 april 1981 1945 -- 1981 220px sunil santha
 sunil santha solo_singer 14 april 1915 sri lankan music sunil santha -lrb- 1915-1981 -rrb- . jpg sri lanka baddaliyanage don joseph john composer , singer , songwriter
sunil santha

sunil santha -lrb- sinhala : ස න ල ස න ත ; 14 april 1915 -- 11 april 1981 -rrb- was a renowned and influential sri lankan composer , singer and lyricist .
he was pivotal in the development of sinhala music and folk songs in the mid to late 1940s and early 1950s .
he composed the beloved soundtracks to lester james peries ' `` rekava '' and `` sandesaya '' in 1956 and 1960 .
in a later comeback , he produced several experimental works .
