| Gayla Peevey | |
| Birth Name: | Gayla Rienette Peevey |
| Birth Date: | 8 March 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Years Active: | 1953–1962 |
| Label: | Columbia, Joy Records (New York) |
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),[1] which reached #84 on Billboard's Hot 100 in early 1960.[2] She also recorded "Robot Man", a cover of a Connie Francis UK hit, but it failed to reach the charts.[3]
Her family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1948. Prior to moving to California, Gayla attended Columbus Elementary School.[4] Peevey graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Education degree.[5] She eventually left teaching.[5] She is married to Cliff Henderson. They have a daughter, Sydney Forest, and three grandchildren.[6] Following her retirement from performing, Peevey runs her own jingle advertisement company and sings in church.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
| 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 (duet with Jimmy Boyd)/I'm So Glad (duet with Jimmy Boyd) | 40218 | RHCO10753/RHCO10754 | |||
| Upsy Down Town/A Dog Named Joe | 40264 | CO49820/CO49821 | |||
| 1954 | 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 |
| 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 |