Gayla Peevey
| Gayla Peevey | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 8, 1943 Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1953-1962 |
| Labels | Columbia, Joy Records (New York) |
Gayla Peevey Henderson (born March 8, 1943) is a former singer and child star from Ponca City, Oklahoma. She is best known for her recording, under her maiden name Gayla Peevey, 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.[1]
Contents
Biography
Peevey graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Education degree.[2] She eventually left teaching and owned her own advertising firm for 15 years.[2] She is married to Cliff Henderson. They have a daughter, Sydney Forest, and 3 grandchildren.
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 $27,552.12 present day), and a baby hippopotamus named Matilda was purchased and given to Peevey which she then donated to the zoo.[3] The hippopotamus named 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.[4]
In addition to being a talented singer, Henderson is also an accomplished 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
| Year | Side | Title | Label | Single | Catalogue No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | A | I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas | Columbia Records | 40106 | CO49818 |
| B | Are My Ears On Straight | CO49819 | |||
| 1953 | A | I Wish I Wuz A Whisker (On The Easter Bunny's Chin) | 40182 | RHCO10747 | |
| B | Three Little Bunnies | RHCO10748 | |||
| 1953 | A | Kitty In The Basket (duet with Jimmy Boyd) | 40218 | RHCO10753 | |
| B | I'm So Glad (duet with Jimmy Boyd) | RHCO10754 | |||
| 1953 | A | Upsy Down Town | 40264 | CO49820 | |
| B | A Dog Named Joe | CO49821 | |||
| 1954 | A | Angel In The Christmas Play | 40364 | RHCO33252 | |
| B | Got A Cold In The Node For Christmas | RHCO33253 | |||
| 1954 | A | Daddy's Report Card | 40425 | RHCO10749 | |
| B | The Night I Ran Away | RHCO10750 | |||
| 1955 | A | 77 Santas | 40602 | RZSP33598 | |
| B | Rubberlegs (The Knock-Kneed Monkey) | RZSP33599 | |||
| 1957 | A | I Want You To Be My Guy | 40932 | JZSP41539 | |
| B | Too Young To Have A Broken Heart | JZSP41540 | |||
| 1958 | A | That's What I Learned In School | 41027 | JZSP42215 | |
| B | Do It Again | JZSP42214 |
Singles (as Jamie Horton) on Joy Records (New York)
| Year | Side | Title | Label | Single | Catalogue No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | A | My Little Marine | Joy Records (New York) | 234 | K90W-8507 |
| B | Missin' | K90W-8508 | |||
| 1960 | A | Where's My Love | 237 | KS-194 | |
| B | Heartbreakin' Doll | KS-193 | |||
| 1960 | A | Just Say So | 240 | L90W-2188 | |
| B | There Goes My Love | ||||
| 1960 | A | Robot Man | 241 | JR-7051 | |
| B | We're Through - We're Finished | JR-7031 | |||
| 1960 | A | What Should A Teen Heart Do | 245 | ||
| B | Hands Off, He's Mine | ||||
| 1961 | A | When It Comes To Love | 252 | ||
| B | Yes, I'll Be Your Girl | ||||
| 1961 | A | Going, Going, Going Gone | 258 | JR-7103 | |
| B | They're Playing Our Song (contains elements of 16 Candles) | JR-7101 | |||
| 1961 | A | Dear Jane | 266 | JR-7073 | |
| B | Only Forever | JR-7122 | |||
| 1962 | A | Go Shout It From A Mountain | 269 | ||
| B | Oh Love (Stop Knockin' On My Door) |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Biography of Gayla Peevey," Internet Movie Database (accessed May 11, 2010).
- ↑ Novelty Nook, Fifties and Sixties, Mistletunes.com (accessed May 11, 2010).
- ↑ News OK:" City Zoo Hippo Dies En Route to Florida Park"
External links
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