To say "Merry Christmas to you."
The song "Mele Kalikimaka" is real Hawaii and tells the story of Christmas in Hawaii. It was written in the late 1940's by an Hawaiian, and first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1950 as a B-side. Since then it's been recorded by hundreds of singers in many styles, but that hapa haole style just seems to fit the spirit best.
The Song
"Mele Kalikimaka" has come around again with a vengeance thanks to Mary and James Buffett's Christmas baby, Jimmy, and Parrotheads and citizens can stamp the slush off their boots as they dance to this one.
The song appears on his 1996 CD release "Christmas Island," and somewhere out there beyond the sea R. Alex Anderson is smiling because you're enjoying his tunes.
Anderson
"Mele Kalikimaka" was written in 1949 by legendary hapa haole songwriter R. Alex Anderson (Robert Alexander Anderson). Anderson was born in Honolulu in 1894 and is also the writer of "Lovely Hula Hands," as well as 200 other Hawaiian songs.
This popular holiday classic was first released on vinyl by Bing Crosby, and for your information "hapa" means "half" and "haole" refers to white Mainlanders. So, hapa haole music is generally Hawaiian music with English lyrics.
Bing Crosby
Decca Records released Bing Crosby's version of "Mele Kalikimaka" on 7 September 1950. It was the B-side of that very-forgettable non-hit "Poppa Santa Claus."
Though some people think "Mele Kalikimaka" was released on the B-side of "White Christmas," Crosby debuted Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" on his NBC radio show, the Kraft Music Hall, on Christmas Day 1941.
If you rent the video of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989) with Chevy Chase, you can hear Bing singing this song when Clark (Chase) looks out his kitchen window and fantasizes about a young suntanned woman taking off her bikini as she emerges from his imaginary in-ground pool.
Big Crosby
Andrews Sisters
More about Christmas in Hawaii
