Talk:I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

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Song title[edit]

My 10" PHILIPS label cat. no. P.B. 211 lists the A-side as: "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" (Hippo the Hero) (Rox) What is the "Hippo the Hero" part? Is that a continuation of the song title? As in "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (Hippo the Hero)" should be an alternate title? Antmusic (talk) 18:48, 4 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Have no idea but she does mention a 'Hippo hero standing there' when she comes down the stairs in the morning. DarkMithras —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.100.246.254 (talk • contribs) 17:32, 26 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Revival?[edit]

I don't recall ever hearing the song before until a few years ago. Is there any way to know how much airplay it got from year to year, and if somebody in particular was responsible for bringing it back? Шизомби (talk) 04:46, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I remember singing the song in elementary school and heard it somewhere every Christmas since, in shopping malls, commercials etc. It's quite well-known. I'm not sure if there was some artist in particular responsible for bringing it back, but you could try asking at the Reference desk, I've always managed to get an answer to any question there. -- œ ^™ 19:27, 5 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Growing up in the 1970s, I reliably heard it every Christmas in stores etc. However I was startled yesterday to hear it in a Subway sandwich store! I was never a big fan of the song. I think the music is well written, and the concept is funny, but her voice has always grated. Greg Lovern (talk) 07:42, 19 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Royalties[edit]

Regarding the line at the end of the History section about her saying in 2010 that she never recieved any royalties from the song, I listened to the whole 9:16 minute video that was referenced there and did not hear her mention anything at all about royalties.

In a 1916 New York Times article, she said that with the recent renewed interest in the song, she was recieving royalty checks "in amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to $1,000", and a Sony Music account in her name had almost $100,000 that had been accumulating since 2008.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/business/retirement/i-want-a-hippopotamus-for-christmas.html Greg Lovern (talk) 07:38, 19 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, the fact that the wrong interview was referenced turns out to have been my fault. I've added a brief summary about the royalty situation from the newer interview. Graham87 (talk) 15:57, 19 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]