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 her single "My Little Marine" (Joy 45-234, 1959),Discogs (accessed May 8, 2024) which reached #84 on Billboard's Hot 100 in early 1960. She also recorded "Robot Man", a cover of a Connie Francis UK hit, but it failed to reach the charts.
Biography The Peevey family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1948. Prior to moving to California, she attended Columbus Elementary School. Peevey graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Education degree."Biography of Gayla Peevey," Internet Movie Database (accessed May 11, 2010). She eventually left teaching. She is married to Cliff Henderson. They have a daughter, Sydney Forest, and three grandchildren. Following her retirement from performing, Peevey runs her own jingle advertisement company and sings in her local church.
In popular culture 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 $3,000 (equivalent to US$ in ), and a baby hippopotamus named Matilda was purchased and given to Peevey, which she then donated to the zoo in 1953.Novelty Nook, Fifties and Sixties , Mistletunes.com (accessed May 11, 2010). 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." City Zoo Hippo Dies En Route to Florida Park". News OK (March 4, 1998). Retrieved on 2017-01-23.
Singles as Gayla Peevey on Columbia Records Year Title Label Single Matrix No. 1953 I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas/Are My Ears On Straight Columbia Records 40106CO49818/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 Year Title Label Single Matrix No. 1959 My Little Marine/Missin''' || Joy Records (New York)||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
External links
List of singles from Joy Records
Peevey, Gayla Rienette at Oklahoma Historical Society