Amar Singh Chamkila was born as Dunni Ram Singh on July 21, 1963 in the village of Dugri near Ludhiana, Punjab, India.He was born into a poor family. The youngest child of Kartar Kaur and Hari Singh, he was educated at Gujar Khan Primary School in Dugri. His aspirations of becoming an electrician were unfulfilled and he found work at a Ludhiana cloth mill. With a natural aptitude for music, he learned to play the harmonium and dholki. Punjabi folk musician Surinder Shinda has said that in 1979, Chamkila approached him for the first time on a bicycle. When Shinda heard the 18-year-old Chamkila sing, he had finally found the protege that he had been looking for. Chamkila would go onto play alongside Punjabi folk artists such as K. Deep, Mohammad Saddiq and Surinder Shinda. He wrote several songs for Shinda and accompanied him as a member of his entourage before deciding to pursue a solo career. It is rumored that Chamkila was happy enough writing songs, but he wasn't earning enough money to look after his family, so had to start singing. He was married and subsequently divorced. He had two daughters, one of whom has gone on to release albums of her own.
