[9] When released nationally by Columbia Records the song shot to the top of the charts, and the Oklahoma City Zoo acquired a baby hippo named Matilda.

[citation needed] In October 1953, Peevey performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show in an episode that would air on November 15, 1953.

[13][14] By 2016, however, she had discovered that there was an account under her name with Sony Music from which she could claim royalties and she was also getting revenue for the song through iTunes.

[18] Bob Keeshan, as Captain Kangaroo, recorded a version of the song in 1961 with his collaborator Lumpy Brannum as Mr. Green Jeans.

American recording artist LeAnn Rimes released her cover of the song as a digital single[21] for her EP, One Christmas: Chapter 1 (2014).