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.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 In popular culture
- 3 Singles (as Gayla Peevey) on Columbia Records
- 4 Singles (as Jamie Horton) on Joy Records (New York)
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Biography
Her family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1948. Prior to moving to California Gayla 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 adverti*t company and sings in 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$30,384 in 2021), 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 the Walt Disney World's Disney's Animal Kingdom, in Orlando, Florida.
Alternative-rock band Ween released a reworking of "Are My Ears On Straight" *led "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight" on their 1997 album The Mollusk.
Henderson is also a songwriter, penning several of her Joy Records (New York) singles, including My Little Marine, Just Say So, We're Through – We're Finished, When It Comes To Love, Yes, I'll Be Your Girl and Dear Jane.
Singles (as Gayla Peevey) on Columbia Records
Singles (as Jamie Horton) on Joy Records (New York)
References
External links
- Gayla Peevey at IMDb
- List of singles from Joy Records