"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" is a Christmas novelty song written by John Rox and performed by Gayla Peevey (10 years old at the time) in 1953. The song peaked at number 24 on Billboard magazine's pop chart in December 1953. When released nationally by Columbia Records the song shot to the top of the charts. Peevey was filmed performing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1953, airing on November 15, 1953. A video of this performance is available on her website.

*****REVISED NOVEMBER 27, 2019 - SR****