| "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Gayla Peevey | |
| B-side | "Are My Ears on Straight?" |
| Released | November 11, 1953 (U.S.) |
| Genre | Christmas, novelty |
| Length | 2:38 |
| Label | Columbia (no. 4-40106) |
| Songwriter(s) | John Rox |
"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" is a Christmas novelty song written by John Rox (1902–1957)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] and performed by 10-year-old Gayla Peevey in 1953. The song peaked at number 24 on Billboard magazine's pop chart in December 1953.[8]
- ^ "Local Song Writer Dies", The Winterset Madisonian (Winterset, Iowa), August 14, 1957.
- ^ "Alice Pearce's Nuptials", The New York Times, May 23, 1948, p. 65.
- ^ "John R. Rox" [sic], The New York Times, August 6, 1957, p. 26.
- ^ "John J. Rox, Song Writer", The Washington Post, August 8, 1957, p. B-2.
- ^ "John Jefferson Rox" in Notable Names in the American Theatre. James T. White & Co., 1976. ISBN 0-88371-018-8.
- ^ Renewal registration RE0000084409, February 23, 1981, of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", by John Jefferson Rox, U.S. Copyright Office database on-line.
- ^ John J. Rox in: National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-89820-161-1.