Singer of 'I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas' is returning to OKC for song's 70th anniversary

Over the past few decades, Gayla Peevey has become accustomed to blowing children's minds.

On one hand, she's the little girl crooning the hallowed holiday song "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas."

On the other, she's now older than many youngsters' grandmothers.

"It's hard for kids to wrap their heads around that. ... Kids hear the record, and it's a little kid. Then, they meet me, and they're like, 'Whoa.' But that's fun," Peevey recently told The Oklahoman by phone from her longtime home of San Diego, California.

"And I can't believe I'm 80 years old. I don't feel it, and I probably don't act that age."

An Oklahoma City native, Peevey was just 10 years old when she recorded the cheery 1953 yuletide ditty "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas." The song was a hit on the Billboard charts — it's listed at No. 59 on Billboard's "Greatest of All Time: Holiday 100 Songs" — and Peevey performed it on a November 1953 episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Written by John Rox (1902–1957), the classic Christmas song has since been covered by the likes of the Three Stooges, Captain Kangaroo, LeAnn Rimes, Gretchen Wilson and Kacey Musgraves.

"There weren't that many little kids at that time recording or singing or performing, so even then it was kind of unusual," Peevey recalled. "The other very unusual thing about that record is that the main one that you still hear on the radio is the original one. It's been covered by lots of artists very well ... but by and large, when you hear it at Christmastime, it's the original one."

Holiday hit helped OKC Zoo raise money for a hippopotamus for Christmas

Perhaps nowhere did Peevey's holiday hit make a bigger impact than in her hometown, where she teamed with the Oklahoma City Zoo (then the Lincoln Park Zoo) and used the catchy tune to raise money to bring the zoo's first Nile hippopotamus, Mathilda, to town on Christmas Eve 1953.

"The whole story about the kids sending in their nickels and dimes, who raised money and bought Matilda, that's a big, fun thing. It's a big part of my history: The little girl that got a real, live hippo for Christmas — and, of course, donated her to the Oklahoma City Zoo," Peevey said.

So, it's fitting that Peevey will celebrate the 70th anniversary of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” at a special sing-along Nov. 9 at the OKC Zoo's newly reimagined Love’s Pachyderm building, Mathilda's former home and a highlight of the zoo's under-construction Expedition Africa habitat.

The grown-up child star also will sign autographs, and the zoo will serve up holiday refreshments and showcase the larger-than-life book listing every business, school and child who donated as little as a penny in 1953 to fund the transport to OKC of "hippo hero" Mathilda, who died in 1998 at age 48.

An Oklahoma Music Hall of Famer, Peevey chatted with The Oklahoman about the 70th anniversary of her holiday hit, her life beyond the hippo song and her thoughts on coming back to her home state:

Q: Could you even imagine as a little girl recording a song that would still be around 70 years later?

No, I could not. (laughs) I really wouldn't have believed it, if someone had come back from the future and told me that. I would say, 'Oh, no. That didn't happen. That's not possible.' And here we are.

Q: What are your thoughts on celebrating the anniversary at the OKC Zoo?

That should be really fun. ... One of the things that's great about the Oklahoma City Zoo is they're so into conservation ... and education. It's a really good zoo. ...

This is probably gonna be the big moment to celebrate, because who knows at my age how many more years that I can do that kind of thing? ... It feels like I shouldn't say that, but you have to be realistic.

So, I'm just going to embrace that moment, let's put it that way. And try to make it real special.

Q: What do you think is the secret to the song's longevity?

It is just a good song. It's a well-written song, and Mitch Miller did a great arrangement. It was done with a full orchestra live in the studio.

I sang with the orchestra; none of this digital stuff they have now. We just were in there all together, and I just belted it out. And I think that you get a special energy or something when you're singing with a live orchestra. ... Then, it was on Columbia Records, so the quality is just top-notch. So, I think it's just a combination— and it just happened to fit my voice and my style of singing. It just all came together.

Q: Do you feel the song is more cleverly written than people might realize?

Yeah, that's true. ... It sounds like a real simple little kiddie song, but if you sit down at a piano and start to play it, you'll go 'Wait, wait, what chord? Where does that go?'

It does some unusual chord changes and things in the song that you don't really realize. But it makes it an interesting song. ... When I was on Columbia, of course, I was a little kid, and at the time, they only gave me little kiddie songs to record. And they were awful; they were just not good songs. The only good one, it turns out, was 'I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas.' And it was a song that you could really belt out and sing.

But they gave me after that these little songs that were just like, 'kitty in a basket' ... and they just really weren't good songs. ... But I'm thankful that at least one of those kiddie songs was a good one.

Q: Has it been interesting to see how the song has passed from one generation of kids to the next?

Absolutely. ... It's in so many school programs you can't even believe. I get emails, and teachers just love using it in school programs. I think one reason is because it's not offensive to anyone. It's not religious; it doesn't make any political statements. It's just a fun song. The tempo and everything is a fun march beat, and kids love singing it . ...

And they've come out with so much merchandise. Hallmark has a new keepsake ornament every year with me singing. You push the button, and it's me singing the hippo song. ... It doesn't sound dated. So, it'll probably keep going long after I'm not here.

Q: Isn't that something that singers and musicians hope to accomplish? To have their music live on after they're gone?

Yeah. I mean, that's something you can only dream of, so I'm very thankful. I am a real churchgoing person of faith, and I give God so much credit for anything good that has happened in my life, including the hippo song going on and on and still being popular. ...

What I really like is it just makes people happy. It's a fun, upbeat, cheery song. And the reaction, that's what you get: This big smile and 'Oh, I just love that song. My kids dance around to it." It's nice to have something in your life that just brings a little joy and a smile to people's face.

Q: Do you feel like everybody at least likes or feels nostalgic about that song?

Yeah, they feel something. I have actually had one or two people say, 'I hate that song.' And the reason is because it sticks in your head, and you can't get it out. ... Our pastor, a few years ago, his granddaughter got one of those Christmas cards that you open it up, and it's me singing the hippo song. And he told me that literally drove him crazy, because she just kept opening it and opening it, and it just played over and over and over again.

But, anyway, most people just really love it, and I get a really positive response.

Q: You became a songwriter and a jingle writer as an adult. Is music still a part of your life outside your Christmas hit?

After we moved to California, in my teens, I did get involved in singing and writing and recording and changed my name to Jamie Horton. So, I did some recording on a different label as a teenager with doo-wop music, and wrote some of the songs that I recorded. A couple of them charted on Billboard, but then The Beatles came along, and everything changed. ... So, I finished high school and then went on to college.

Then after I married, I finished college and tried teaching. But it wasn't for me. So, I started a little advertising agency. It gave me a musical outlet and was fun. ... I still write songs. I'm writing songs to this day. I have some country songs I'm working on right now — and who knows, I might dust them off and do something with them.

Q: How does it feel when you come back to Oklahoma?

Well, it still feels like home. I really do still feel like an Oklahoman, and it's so in my roots. ... There's just something about Oklahoma that just makes me feel so warm and and just brings back all the memories — and people there are so friendly.

That's just one of the things that never changes about Oklahoma is that the people are just gracious and friendly — and they don't forget the past. It's been a long time since I lived there, but the people just greet me with open arms every time I go back.

'I WANT A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS' 70TH ANNIVERSARY SING-ALONG

Featuring: Gayla Peevey.

When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 9.

Where: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, 2000 Remington Place.

Cost: Free with zoo admission.

Information: www.okczoo.org.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas' singer celebrating 70th year