[78-L] Child Singers

[David Lennick]

So who asked?

The original Sonny Boy Davey Lee made it to 83 (died in '08). He made a couple 
of records for Brunswick. Interesting that I find differing birth dates, but 
only a week apart (December 29/24 and January 5/25).

dl

Royal Pemberton wrote:
> Here's what Wonkypedia has about Gayla Peevey:
> 
> *Gayla Peevey* (born March 8, 1943) is perhaps best known for her song, "I
> Want a Hippopotamus for
> Christmas<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Want_a_Hippopotamus_for_Christmas>"
> (Columbia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Records>,
> 1953<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_in_music>).
> A child star from Ponca City,
> Oklahoma<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponca_City,_Oklahoma>,
> she was ten years old when she recorded the novelty
> song<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_song>,
> which had been written by John
> Rox<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Rox&action=edit&redlink=1>in
> 1950 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_in_music> (who incidentally was
> married to Alice Pearce <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Pearce> who
> played the first Mrs. Kravitz on the TV Show
> Bewitched<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched>
> ).
> 
> Although the song was not recorded as a fund-raiser, the Oklahoma City
> Zoo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Zoo>capitalized upon
> its popularity through a fund-raising campaign to "buy a
> hippo for Gayla" in order to bring a hippo to the zoo. (They had no
> hippopotamus <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus> at the time.) The
> song raised $3,000. A baby hippo, named Matilda, was procured and flown in
> to Oklahoma City and presented by Peevey to the
> zoo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo>
> .[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayla_Peevey#cite_note-0> Recently Gayla
> Peevey's song "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" was featured in a Telus
> commercial.
> Career after music
> 
> Gayla Peevey graduated from San Diego State
> University<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_State_University>,
> and received a teaching degree. She left teaching and went into advertising,
> where she owned her own firm for 15 years.
> 
> She married Cliff Henderson and they have one daughter and three
> grandchildren.
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 4:51 AM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>wrote:
> 
>> Gloria Jean?
>>
>> dl
>>
>> simmonssomer wrote:
>>>  What was the name of that young girl soprano appearing with WC Fields in
>>> one of his last films.
>>> She was being groomed as that studio's Deanne Durbin .
>>>
>>> Al S.
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>>> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>>> Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 11:28 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Child Singers
>>>
>>>
>>>> Ann Stephens was a suicide. I don't know if we were clear about that in
>>>> the
>>>> liner notes to the Flapper CD or were being gentle about it, but it was
>>>> confirmed by a couple of sources. As for Christopher Robin Milne, who
>> made
>>>> a
>>>> record for HMV, my contact at Pearl knew him and said he ran a book
>>>> store..he
>>>> may also not have wanted to be bothered about Winnie (whose legacy will
>>>> continue to be defiled by Disney, as they do everything else..now Marvel
>>>> Comics).
>>>>
>>>> We mentioned Jimmy Boyd..Molly Bee as well (similar vintage). Eileen
>>>> Barton was
>>>> singing and clowning with Milton Berle and Eddie Cantor in the 1930s and
>>>> she
>>>> made it to a ripe old age. Baby Rose Marie is still with us (just saw
>> her
>>>> last
>>>> week in what survives of "Top Banana").
>>>>
>>>> Speaking of Molly Bee, I wonder what became of Barbara Shuttleworth, who
>>>> did
>>>> singing commercials and shtick on The Small Types Club as "Baby Bee"?
>>>>
>>>> dl
>>>>
>>>> DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
>>>>> The posting about Laurie London got me wondering what became of other
>>>>> Children who performed on 78s.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ernest Lough, (Hear My Prayer and others), lived to a ripe old age
>> before
>>>>> his demise in 2000.  If anyone's interested there is a four part
>>>>> documentary on YouTube about Ernest Lough discussing his recordings and
>>>>> lots of videos of the recording process in the 20s.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jimmy Boyd, (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus),  made it to his three
>>>>> score and ten before dying last March, (I'm sure it must have been
>>>>> mentioned on this list but I didn't see it).
>>>>>
>>>>> Barry Gordon, (Nuttin' for Christmas), still alive and well at age 61.
>>>>>
>>>>> Christopher Robin Milne, died at 76 in 1996.  Not a very happy person
>> so
>>>>> I've heard.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ann Stephens, (Teddy Bears' Picnic, etc.), Born in 1931, no evidence
>> that
>>>>> she died, or that she continues to live.  But I'm pretty confident that
>>>>> she is in one condition or the other.  She managed to record "Teddy
>>>>> Bears' Picnic" at the age of 13 while sounding like she hadn't reached
>>>>> her 7th birthday yet.
>>>>>
>>>>> I guess Deanna Durbin counts, she signed up with Decca at age 15, but
>>>>> she's one who is neither dead or alive.  The person who was Deanna
>> Durbin
>>>>> still breaths but she claims that the Deanna Durbin we all knew never
>>>>> existed.
>>>>>
>>>>> db