Gayla Peevey

Gayla Rienette Peevey (born March 8, 1943) is a former singer and child star from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is best known for her recording of "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" (Columbia 4-40106, 1953). Peevey recorded the novelty song when she was 10 years old. In 1960, under the name Jamie Horton, she had a minor hit with the song "Robot Man", a Connie Francis cover.[1]

Gayla Peevey
Publicity photo of Gayla Peevey in 1953
Publicity photo of Gayla Peevey in 1953
Background information
Birth nameGayla Rienette Peevey
Born (1943-03-08) March 8, 1943
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1953–1962
LabelsColumbia, Joy Records (New York)

Biography

Her family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1948. Prior to moving to California Gayla attended Columbus Elementary School.[2] Peevey graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Education degree.[3] She eventually left teaching.[3] She is married to Cliff Henderson. They have a daughter, Sydney Forest, and three grandchildren.[4] Following her retirement from performing, Peevey runs her own jingle advertisement company and sings in church.[5]

The Oklahoma City Zoo capitalized upon the popularity of "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" with a fundraising campaign to "buy a hippo for Gayla". The fund raised $3,000 (equivalent to US$32,813 in 2022), and a baby hippopotamus named Matilda was purchased and given to Peevey, which she then donated to the zoo in 1953.[6] Matilda spent 45 years in the Oklahoma City Zoo, and then died at age 47 from a heart attack in 1998 while being transferred to the Walt Disney World's Disney's Animal Kingdom, in Orlando, Florida.[7]

Singles (as Gayla Peevey) on Columbia Records
YearTitleLabelSingleMatrix No.
1953I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas/Are My Ears On StraightColumbia Records40106CO49818/CO49819
Wish I Wuz A Whisker (On The Easter Bunny's Chin)/Three Little Bunnies40182RHCO10747/RHCO10748
Kitty In The Basket (duet with Jimmy Boyd)/I'm So Glad (duet with Jimmy Boyd)40218RHCO10753/RHCO10754
Upsy Down Town/A Dog Named Joe40264CO49820/CO49821
1954Angel In The Christmas Play/Got A Cold In The Node For Christmas40364RHCO33252/RHCO33253
Daddy's Report Card/The Night I Ran Away40425RHCO10749/RHCO10750
195577 Santas/Rubberlegs (The Knock-Kneed Monkey)40602RZSP33598/RZSP33599
1957I Want You To Be My Guy/Too Young To Have A Broken Heart40932JZSP41539/JZSP41540
1958That's What I Learned In School/Do It Again41027JZSP42215/JZSP42214

Singles (as Jamie Horton) on Joy Records (New York)
YearTitleLabelSingleMatrix No.
1959My Little Marine/Missin'Joy Records (New York)234K90W-8507/K90W-8508
1960Where's My Love/Heartbreakin' Doll237KS-193/KS-194
Just Say So/There Goes My Love240L90W-2188
Robot Man/We're Through – We're Finished241JR-7051/JR-7031
What Should A Teen Heart Do/Hands Off, He's Mine245
1961When It Comes To Love/Yes, I'll Be Your Girl252
Going, Going, Going Gone/They're Playing Our Song (contains elements of 16 Candles)258JR-7103/JR-7101
Dear Jane/Only Forever266JR-7073/JR-7122
1962Go Shout It From A Mountain/Oh Love (Stop Knockin' On My Door)269

References
  1. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (July 25, 1960). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 3. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. ‘Hippo’ was a splash in singer’s life
  3. "Biography of Gayla Peevey," Internet Movie Database (accessed May 11, 2010).
  4. Famed Child Singing Sensation Gayla Peevey On the Comeback of Her Classic, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
  5. Christmas hippo changed life for Oklahoma 10-year-old
  6. Novelty Nook, Fifties and Sixties, Mistletunes.com (accessed May 11, 2010).
  7. " City Zoo Hippo Dies En Route to Florida Park". News OK (March 4, 1998). Retrieved on 2017-01-23.
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