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 her single "My Little Marine" (Joy 45-234, 1959), 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. 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. 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. 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$36,101 in 2025), and a baby hippopotamus named Matilda was purchased and given to Peevey, which she then donated to the zoo in 1953. 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. 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. ‘Hippo’ was a splash in singer’s life "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 Christmas hippo changed life for Oklahoma 10-year-old Novelty Nook, Fifties and Sixties Archived December 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Mistletunes.com (accessed May 11, 2010). " City Zoo Hippo Dies En Route to Florida Park". News OK (March 4, 1998). Retrieved on 2017-01-23. Gayla Peevey at IMDb List of singles from Joy Records {{dead link}} Gayla Peevey discography at Discogs Peevey, Gayla Rienette at Oklahoma Historical Society v t e