Robert Alexander Anderson (often given as R. Alex Anderson) (June 6, 1894 – May 30, 1995) was an American composer who was born and lived most of his life in Hawaii, writing many popular Hawaiian songs within the Hapa haole genre including "Lovely Hula Hands" (1940) and " Mele Kalikimaka" (1949), the latter the best known Hawaiian Christmas song.

Background

He was called "Andy" by his close friends. Anderson was born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. He attended Punahou School where he wrote the school's football song in his junior year and the school song in his senior year. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1916, where he studied electrical and mechanical engineering and was a member of the

Cornell University Glee Club The Cornell University Glee Club (CUGC) is the oldest student organization at Cornell University, having been organized shortly after the first students arrived on campus in 1868. The CUGC is a thirty-nine member chorus for tenor and bass voices ...

. Despite lacking formal training as a composer, he wrote many songs as a student there, including "When Twilight Falls on Blue Cayuga". In 1927, he wrote his first hit song, "Haole Hula". Another well-known song of his was "Punahou" (1966). His exploits during World War I involved flying combat missions in France. After being shot down and taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans, Anderson conceived of a daring and ultimately successful escape. This was later turned into a movie. Although he had a very active business career, he turned his love of songwriting into a very successful

avocation An avocation is an activity that someone engages in as a hobby outside their main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside their workplaces ...

. While Anderson never studied theory or harmony and played a piano mostly by ear, many of his over 100 island songs have become standards. He usually composed away from an instrument, although he sometimes used a piano or ukulele to work out a melody. In 1939, as a result of a chance remark, Anderson was inspired to write his most popular song, "Lovely Hula Hands". After watching a hula dancer at a party, he heard someone say, "aren't her hands lovely?" After it was performed by Harry Owens and his band on a Honolulu radio station, it became an instant hit. It has been recorded by dozens of artists, including Bing Crosby and Alfred Apaka. Several of Anderson's songs had movie star associations. " Mele Kalikimaka" was first recorded by his friend Bing Crosby. "Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai" was written in the 1930s for a party honoring the actor

Warner Baxter Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film ''In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at ...

. "White Ginger Blossoms" was written at the suggestion of film star

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

. Anderson was considered the "most Hawaiian" of the

hapa Hapa is a Hawaiian word for someone of multiracial ancestry. In Hawaii, the word refers to any person of mixed ethnic heritage, regardless of the specific mixture.: "Thus, for locals in Hawai’i, both hapa or hapa haole are used to depict p ...

haole ''Haole'' (; Hawaiian ) is a Hawaiian term for individuals who are not Native Hawaiian, and is applied to people primarily of European ancestry. Background The origins of the word predate the 1778 arrival of Captain James Cook, as recorded in s ...

composers, following in the footsteps of songwriters like Charles E. King, using traditional Hawaiian musical qualities and themes. Anderson died on May 30, 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Robert Alexander 1894 births 1995 deaths American male composers American centenarians Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Punahou School alumni Musicians from Honolulu Writers from Honolulu 20th-century American composers Burials at Oahu Cemetery 20th-century American male musicians American World War I pilots American prisoners of war in World War I Men centenarians World War I prisoners of war held by Germany American escapees Escapees from German detention United States Army personnel of World War I