Gayla Peevey
Gayla Peevey | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of Gayla Peevey in 1953 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gayla Rienette Peevey |
| Born | March 8, 1943 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1953–1962 |
| Labels | Columbia, Joy |
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.
Early life
[edit]Peevey family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1948. Prior to moving to California, she attended Columbus Elementary School.[1]
Career
[edit]Peevey's first record, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", was recorded in 1953, when she was ten years old. It was the best selling Christmas record of that year.[2]
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$34,164 in 2023), and a baby hippopotamus named Matilda (who weighed over 700 pounds[2]) was purchased and given to Peevey, which she then donated to the zoo in 1953.[3] 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 Walt Disney World's Disney's Animal Kingdom, in Orlando, Florida.[4]
Matilda belonged to the hippo species Pygmy hippopotamus. They are now endangered, with fewer than 3,000 in the wild.[5]
In 1960, under the name Jamie Horton, she had a minor hit with her single "My Little Marine" (Joy 45-234, 1959),[6] which reached #84 on Billboard's Hot 100 in early 1960.[7] She also recorded "Robot Man", a cover of a Connie Francis UK hit, but it failed to reach the charts.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Peevey graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Education degree.[9] She eventually left teaching.[9] She is married to Cliff Henderson. They have a daughter, Sydney Forest, and three grandchildren.[10] Following her retirement from performing, Peevey runs her own jingle advertisement company and sings in church.[11]
Singles as Gayla Peevey on Columbia Records
[edit]| Year | Title | Label | Single | Matrix No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" / "Are My Ears On Straight?" | Columbia Records | 40106 | CO49818/CO49819 |
| "Wish I Wuz a Whisker (On the Easter Bunny's Chin)" / "Three Little Bunnies" | 40182 | RHCO10747/RHCO10748 | ||
| "Kitty in the Basket" / "I'm So Glad" (with Jimmy Boyd) |
40218 | RHCO10753/RHCO10754 | ||
| "Upsy Down Town" / "A Dog Named Joe" | 40264 | CO49820/CO49821 | ||
| 1954 | "The Angel in the Christmas Play" / "Got a Cold in the Node for Christmas" | 40364 | RHCO33252/RHCO33253 | |
| "Daddy's Report Card" / "The Night I Ran Away" | 40425 | RHCO10749/RHCO10750 | ||
| 1955 | "77 Santas" / "Rubberlegs (The Knock-Kneed Monkey)" | 40602 | RZSP33598/RZSP33599 | |
| 1957 | "I Want You to Be My Guy" / "Too Young to Have a Broken Heart" | 40932 | JZSP41539/JZSP41540 | |
| 1958 | "That's What I Learned in School" / "Do It Again" | 41027 | JZSP42215/JZSP42214 |
Singles as Jamie Horton on Joy Records (New York)
[edit]| Year | Title | Label | Single | Matrix No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "My Little Marine" / "Missin'" | Joy Records | 234 | K90W-8507/K90W-8508 |
| 1960 | "Where's My Love" / "Heartbreakin' Doll" | 237 | KS-193/KS-194 | |
| "Just Say So" / "There Goes My Love" | 240 | L90W-2188 | ||
| "Robot Man" / "We're Through – We're Finished" | 241 | JR-7051/JR-7031 | ||
| "What Should a Teen Heart Do" / "Hands Off, He's Mine" | 245 | |||
| 1961 | "When It Comes To Love" / "Yes, I'll Be Your Girl" | 252 | ||
| "Going, Going, Going Gone" / "They're Playing Our Song" (contains elements of "16 Candles") | 258 | JR-7103/JR-7101 | ||
| "Dear Jane" / "Only Forever" | 266 | JR-7073/JR-7122 | ||
| 1962 | "Go Shout It from a Mountain" / "Oh Love (Stop Knockin' on My Door)" | 269 |
References
[edit]- ^ Coppernoll, Carrie (December 21, 2008). "'Hippo' was a splash in singer's life". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c Rogers, John (December 16, 2016). "Want a hippo for Christmas? The story of a girl who got one". The Press Democrat. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ "Novelty Nook, Fifties and Sixties". mistletunes.com. n.d. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
- ^ Money, Jack (March 4, 1998). "City Zoo Hippo Dies En Route to Florida Park"". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Associated Press (December 13, 2017). "'I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas' Singer Welcomes Hippo to Oklahoma City Zoo". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ^ Discogs (accessed May 8, 2024)
- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 1, 1960. p. 60. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 25, 1960. p. 3. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "Biography of Gayla Peevey," Internet Movie Database (accessed May 11, 2010).
- ^ "Famed Child Singing Sensation Gayla Peevey On the Comeback of Her Classic, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Risen Magazine. n.d. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ "'Only a hippopotamus will do'". The Columbian. December 17, 2016. Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Gayla Peevey at IMDb
- List of singles from Joy Records at the Wayback Machine (archived October 26, 2021)
- Gayla Peevey discography at Discogs
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