Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
" Mele Kalikimaka" (pronounced [ˈmɛlɛ kəˌlitiˈmɐkə]) is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian transliteration of "Merry Christmas", Mele Kalikimaka. [1] One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1950 on Decca. [2]
The phrase is borrowed directly from English, but, since Hawaiian has a different phonological system (in particular, Hawaiian does not possess the /r/ or /s/ of English, nor does it have the phonotactic constraints to allow consonants at the end of a syllable), "Merry Christmas" becomes "Mele Kalikimaka".
Robert Alexander Anderson (often given as R. Alex Anderson) (June 6, 1894 – May 30, 1995) [1] 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.
Christmas With Arthur Godfrey and All The Little Godfreys (1953, Columbia B-348; Kahauolopua sings Mele Kalikimaka) [7] Al Kealoha Perry & His Singing Surfriders: Aloha, Hula Hawaiian Style (1996, Hana Ola Records. Perry was musical director of Hawaii Calls 1937–1967, and all the artists on this record were from that show.
العربية; Aragonés; Беларуская; Български; Català; Čeština; Cymraeg; Deutsch; Ελληνικά; Español; Esperanto; Euskara; فارسی
Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us; Help; Learn to edit; Community portal; Recent changes; Upload file
[1] A reporter for The Boston Globe gave the album a positive review, saying "It's fitting that a trio so indebted to the Andrews Sisters would include a cover of 'Mele Kalikimaka', the Hawaiian-themed Christmas song made famous by the Andrewses and Bing Crosby, on their new holiday release. It's just one of the many highlights on this terrific ...
Mele Kalikimaka is not a translation of Merry Christmas. It is a transposing of English words to make them look Hawaiian. He pololei ʻoe! And for the use directly above me. Yes, the Hawaiian word "mele" does mean song. However, in the case of Mele Kalikimaka, the word Mele means Merry.