Novelty Christmas song, zoo linked for 50 years

Certainly in the 100 years of Oklahoma’s past, there have been events in which citizens demonstrated character and heroism that propelled them to a place in history. In other circumstances it was the event itself that mattered, carving a niche into which a prominent Oklahoman slipped. Whether through design or chance, those individuals and those circumstances combined to fashion the inimitable parts of our chronology we treasure as “uniquely Oklahoman.”

Others, are just fun.

Consider the chance that a small 10-year-old girl and a novelty song could forge a near-legendary story. If one chooses to ignore that it, in fact, isn’t true, it’s still a great story. As with so many “legends” of the type, however, there is a kernel of truth, and so therefore remains part of Oklahoma’s history. The byproduct, in this case, is the fun.

According to lore, the song “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” was written as a means to raise funs so that the Oklahoma City Zoo might gather enough funding to acquire one of the quarter-ton African-native mammals for its exhibition. That legend forever ties the song to the Oklahoma City Zoo in the minds of many around the country. Sadly, it’s not quite true, but it’s no less a good story.

Truth be told, the song’s composition had nothing at all to do with the zoo and became a happy coincidence. It was published in 1950 by John Rox and, in 1953, Columbia Records sold over 300,000 copies of the 78-rpm disc. No doubt a portion of the song’s success could be attributed to the attitude-laced voice of its singer. Gayla Peevey, a native of Oklahoma City whose family also resided for a time in Ponca City, had reportedly performed on “Sooner Shindig” and “The Chuckwagon Gang” for WKY-TV, which had sent recordings of her voice to Columbia. Later under contract to the label, she was only 10 years old when she was selected to perform “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”, with no less than the Mitch Miller Orchestra.

The song’s commercial success, it is said, inspired WKY and the Oklahoma City Times to launch a fundraising campaign to purchase a hippo for the facility. Then not quite 50 years old, and lacking a hippo, a program was conceived that would solicit pennies, nickels and dimes from area schoolchildren, to buy a hippo for Gayla, who would then donate it to the zoo. The drive raised between $3,000 and $4,000 and a baby hippo named “Matilda” was soon a resident of the zoo’s third home in the northeast quadrant of the capitol city. While not written specifically for the zoo’s efforts, it did, finally bring the named prize to its new home.

Peevey, as it turns out, left show business with several other recordings to her credit, but the family moved to San Diego where she received an education degree, and later owned her own advertising firm. “Matilda” spent the rest of her life at the zoo and, like many humans, was planning to “retire” to Florida at Walt Disney World. However, before that move could be accomplished, she passed away in March of 1998, having entertained visitors for over half a century.

Still popular at Christmas-time, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” remains one of those songs that can produce either irritability or foolishness in adults. It found a new round of success in 2005 when TELUS, the Canadian telecommunications giant gave it a lot of play. The company, which routinely uses animals in their ad campaigns, paired the song with “Hazina”, a hippo from the Greater Vancouver Zoo, pledging $10,000 to help rebuild the animal’s habitat. The program was so successful, in early 2006 a campaign launched for the “adoption” of plush hippos raised an additional $20,000 for improvements and modifications to the zoo’s hippo enclosures.

So, it seems, notoriety can come from many sources. Or, like so many other circumstances, just the right mixture of time and talent creates success. Take a novelty song of the ‘50s, combined with the talent of an Oklahoma schoolgirl, add the inspiration of thousands of children and the spirit of giving, and you create an odd, quirky tale of Oklahoma history.

Sometimes the legacy of circumstance creates a classic tale of heroism and triumph. Those narratives routinely make their way into books and scholarly lectures. Other times, they are mere footnotes to history. Sometimes, it just creates a little bit of fun and a story to tell the children.