OKC icons Wanda Jackson, Gayla Peevey, Norma Jean to be honored at tribute concert

Seventy years ago, Gayla Peevey recorded what's become one of the most iconic holidays songs of all time, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas."  

"At this point, it's considered a classic Christmas song ... but what I really like is it just makes people happy. It's a fun, upbeat, cheery song," Peevey, 80, said by phone from her longtime home of San Diego, California.

"And the reaction ... you get: This big smile and 'Oh, I just love that song' and 'My kids dance around to it.' It's just nice to have something in your life that just brings a little joy and a smile to people's face."

Two years before she pleaded with Santa to deliver her holiday "hippo hero" as a 10-year-old child star, the Oklahoma City native was discovered after her fiddle-playing uncle arranged a guest spot for her on a broadcast at OKC's KLPR-AM radio station.

"We lived in Ponca City at the time. ... He talked to my parents and said, 'If I can arrange it, can you bring Gayla up to sing on the KLPR radio show that I'm gonna be playing the fiddle on?' They said 'OK' and they took me up there, and I sang a couple of songs. KLPR (owner) Jack Beasley was listening, and he just flipped out," Peevey recalled.

"So, it all started with KLPR."

Gayla Peevey, Wanda Jackson, Tommy Collins and Norma Jean to be honored at tribute show

Peevey isn't the only Oklahoma performer who started out at KLPR in the 1950s and went on music stardom: Queen of Rockabilly and Oklahoma Cultural Treasure Wanda Jackson, 85; the late Bakersfield Sound pioneer Tommy Collins; and two-time Grammy Award nominee "Pretty Miss" Norma Jean, 85, all started their tuneful careers at the former OKC radio station.

The Oklahoma City/County Historical Society will honor KLPR's legacy and the four stars the radio station helped launch with the KLPR Radio Oklahoma Music Legends Tribute Show Aug. 15 at the historic Yale Theater.

"To me, KLPR is like our own little Sun Records that they have in Memphis. ... A small little-bitty radio station launched the careers of four international music stars, who were really all pioneers in their own right," said Brian Maughn, president of the Oklahoma City/County Historical Society board of directors.

"Wanda is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tommy is in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame ... and Norma Jean was one of the first 20 women to be inducted as a member into the Grand Ole Opry back when it was very difficult for women to get membership. Then, Gayla Peevey has one of the most played holiday songs of all time."

Country star Pam Tillis to honor rock icon Wanda Jackson in concert

Country hitmakers Pam Tillis and Leona Williams and multifaceted Oklahoma talent Darci Lynne will perform in honor of the KLPR icons at the Aug. 15 concert.

A two-time Grammy winner, Tillis, 66, will pay tribute to Jackson, the two-time Grammy nominee considered the first female rock ’n’ roll singer. A Maud native and longtime OKC resident, Jackson started singing rock ’n’ roll in 1956 at the urging of her tour mate (and sweetheart at the time) Elvis Presley.

"Pam and I are pretty good buddies. I'm very happy that she wanted to do it," Jackson told The Oklahoman.

"It's wonderful for Brian ... and the historical society to be doing this, because these artists are well-known, they've had big careers, and it kind of gets forgotten that they're Oklahomans. We have so many singers and actors coming out of Oklahoma these days — but it's always been that way.

"I think this is a good way to complete the circle, so people know how it started."

Darci Lynne to honor fellow grown-up child star at OKC tribute show

A fellow grown-up child star from OKC, 2017 "America's Got Talent" winner Darci Lynne was picked to perform in honor of Peevey. A singer, ventriloquist and musician, Darci Lynne was just 12 years old when she won the top prize on the hit NBC performance competition; now 18 and a recent high school graduate, she continues to tour and has also ventured into movies.

"Both starting out as little kids and both being from Oklahoma, we have a lot in common. And, oh, my goodness, she's just an amazing talent. So, I feel flattered that they chose her to honor me," Peevey said.

"We did a little Zoom thing ... a year or two ago. But I haven't met her in person. So, I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Country singer and Ameripolitan Music Award winner Williams, 80, was selected to perform in honor of Collins, who died in 2000 at age 69. Born Leonard Sipes on Sept. 28, 1930, in Bethany, Collins was a singer-songwriter who recorded his own hits in the 1950s and wrote songs that were recorded by Merle Haggard, George Strait, Buck Owens and Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis' late father.

"Leona Williams is Merle's ex-wife, but a great singer-songwriter in her own right. She actually co-wrote songs with Tommy Collins, and she was there when Merle Haggard wrote his hit song 'Leonard,' which was written about Tommy. ... So, she's his family's first choice for this," said Maughn, who is also an Oklahoma County commissioner.

"Then Gayla went on to be a songwriter in her own right as well, and Leona Williams in her recording career actually chose one of Gayla's songs. ... So, there are some overlaps."

Williams also will perform in honor of “Pretty Miss” Norma Jean during the tribute concert.

Born Norma Jean Beasler in Wellston, Norma Jean was Porter Wagoner's initial performing partner on “The Porter Wagoner Show,” preceding Dolly Parton. Norma Jean recorded 20 albums for RCA Victor in the 1960s and ‘70s and was a Grand Ole Opry member for many years.

Grammy winner and longtime Grand Ole Opry member Jeannie Seely was originally scheduled to perform at the tribute show in honor of Norma Jean. But Seely, 83, had to cancel just a few days before the concert due to illness, Maughn said.

Country singer Mary Lou Turner, who is best known as Bill Anderson's duet partner on hits like "That's What Made Me Love You" and the chart-topper "Sometimes," will fill in for Seely and pay homage to Norma Jean at the tribute show, Maughn said. Turner frequently performs with Williams, Barbara Fairchild and others in the "Grand Ladies of Country" concert series in Branson, Missouri.

Tribute concert to remember OKC radio station's late owner

Proceeds from the one-night-only tribute show will support the nonprofit Oklahoma City/County Historical Society's efforts to collect, preserve and share OKC's historical heritage.

"This show dates back to about two years ago; it's just taken us that long to get all the parts together," Maughn said. "But I just try to always champion these musicians' accomplishments, particularly these ladies ... because I think they're historic."

It's also fitting that the tribute show will bring the one-time KLPR performers together at the restored Yale Theater in south OKC's Historic Capitol Hill district, he said.

"It's diagonally across the street from where the radio station used to be, and that's why we're putting a historical marker down here and having the event here in this space," Maughn said.

The historical marker will be unveiled at the end of the tribute concert by Jackson, Peevey and Norma Jean.

"It's going to celebrate that Jack Beasley bought and founded this radio station, then put each of these four artists on a regular placement and was instrumental in launching their careers," Maughn said.

"Mr. Beasley died (in 1989) leaving no children, so there hasn't really been any torchbearer to celebrate his legacy. He's gone forgotten all these decades ... and this is a way to pay tribute to him for helping create musical history."

Although she was still a girl when her family moved from Oklahoma to California, Peevey said she loves coming back to the Sooner State. Along with attending the Aug. 15 KLPR Radio Oklahoma Music Legends Tribute Show, she already has holiday plans in her hometown.

She will celebrate the 70th anniversary of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" at a Nov. 9 event at the Oklahoma City Zoo, where her yuletide hit famously helped raise money to bring a hippo named Mathilda to town back in 1953.

"I really do still feel like an Oklahoman, and it's so in my roots," Peevey said. "One of the things that never changes about Oklahoma is that the people are just gracious and friendly — and they don't forget the past. It's been a long time since I lived there, but the people just greet me with open arms every time I go back."

KLPR RADIO OKLAHOMA MUSIC LEGENDS TRIBUTE SHOW

• When: 7 p.m. Aug. 15.

• Where: Yale Theater, 227 SW 25.

• Honorees: Wanda Jackson, Gayla Peevey, Norma Jean and the late Tommy Collins.

• Performers: Pam Tillis, Darci Lynne and Leona Williams.

• Benefiting: Oklahoma City/County Historical Society.

• Information: https://okchistoricalsociety.org.

• Tickets: www.theyaleokc.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Darci Lynne and Pam Tillis play for Wanda Jackson and more at OKC show