From OKC to holiday classic: the history behind "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"

2 years ago 343

TULSA, Okla. — How does a novelty opus go a beloved Christmas classic? It each began with a 10-year-old miss from Oklahoma City.

Gayla Peevey grew up arsenic a kid prima with radical amazed by her talent, particularly successful her hometown of OKC. Columbia Records noticed her successful 1953 and offered her the accidental to sing children's songs.

The archetypal opus fixed to Peevey was each astir receiving a hippopotamus for Christmas. She loved the opus and truthful did everyone else.

The novelty opus became the deed of the vacation play that year. It peaked astatine spot 24 connected the popular Billboard charts and Peevey adjacent performed the opus connected the Ed Sullivan Show.

The opus was truthful fashionable astatine the time, that the section paper and the Oklahoma City Zoo became inspired. The OKC Zoo did not person a hippopotamus and started a run based connected Peevey's opus to get one.

The statewide run was centered astir getting Peevey an existent hippopotamus for Christmas. The section paper had spaces wherever radical could donate their dimes oregon quarters to the money to beryllium sent in.

The run was incredibly palmy and Peevey so got her hippopotamus for Christmas. Mathilda, a babe hippo, was fixed to Peevey and past donated to the OKC Zoo.

Decades later, the opus has go a vacation classical successful its ain right. Peevey would aboriginal invited her 2nd hippopotamus successful 2017 erstwhile the OKC Zoo acquired a pygmy hippo.

Since then, Peevey has promoted the conservation of hippopotamuses and spoken astatine zoos connected their behalf.

Trending Stories: