R. Alex Anderson

American songwriter from Hawaii. Born June 6, 1894 in Honolulu, Hawaii Died May 30, 1995 (aged 100) in Honolulu, Hawaii He was married to singer Peggy Center Anderson. He composed over 200 songs, including "Lovely Hula Hands," the million-selling (as recorded by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters) Christmas song "Mele Kalikimaka," "Blue Lei," "The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai," "On a Coconut Island," and many other favorites and standards of Hawaiian music. He was a fighter pilot in WWII, was shot down, wounded in enemy territory, and as a prisoner of war by the Germans, Anderson conceived of a daring and ultimately successful escape. This was later turned into a movie and a book From a Joyful Heart: The Life and Music of R. Alexander Anderson. Mele Kalikimaka charted in 2006 by Jake Owen, landing at the #40 spot on the U.S. country charts.