Elmo Shropshire

Elmo Shropshire, DVM (born October 26, 1936) is an American veterinarian, competitive runner and country music singer. Shropshire, who typically performs under the name "Dr. Elmo," is best known for his Christmas novelty song "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer". He originally recorded the song in 1979 with his then-wife Patsy, then re-recorded it solo for the 1992 album Dr. Elmo's Twisted Christmas and again in 2000 for the album Up Your Chimney. He also recorded two albums of year-round songs: Dr. Elmo's Twisted Tunes (1993) and Love, Death and Taxes (2000).

Elmo Shropshire
Shropshire performing in New York in 2009.
Background information
Also known asDr. Elmo
Born (1936-10-26) October 26, 1936
Lexington, Kentucky
GenresHoliday, bluegrass
Occupation(s)Musician, Veterinarian
Instruments5-String Banjo, Guitar
Years active1970–present
LabelsEpic, SonyBMG, Sony, Time Life
Associated actsElmo & Patsy
Websitewww.facebook.com/Dr.Elmo.Shropshire

Personal life

Elmo is a native of Lexington, Kentucky and has a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture from the University of Florida and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University in Alabama. He was racetrack veterinarian at Aqueduct and Belmont Park in New York before moving to San Francisco to open his own hospital, Arguello Pet Hospital. In San Francisco he started playing banjo in a Bluegrass band, and later became a competitive runner.

Success with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

In 1979, Elmo recorded "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (written by his friend Randy Brooks), and instantly, Elmo & Patsy became regional superstars. They divorced in 1985.[1] Since then, Elmo settled a class action suit against Sony based upon the royalties paid from downloads and ringtone sales.[2]

In 2000, he served as co-writer of an animated Christmas special based on the song. For this television special, he also provided the voices of Grandpa and the narrator. In 2007, Elmo was sued by the Fred Rappaport Company, the producer of the show, over the right to use the song in show-related merchandise.[3]

On December 23, 2014, Elmo performed "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" on The Meredith Vieira Show as part of a segment called "Real or Fake".

Later years

Today, Elmo lives in Novato, California with his wife, Pam Wendell.[4] Since 1992, he has recorded several solo albums under the name Dr. Elmo.

In 2009, Dr. Elmo appeared on Good Morning America,[5] and in 2010, he appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[6]

In October 2019, Elmo won the US National 5K Cross Country Championship in his age division.[7] 2018 Elmo is Ranked #1 in the US track 5K. On October 13, 2012, Elmo Shropshire won his age division in the United States National 5K Cross Country Championship in San Diego, California,[8] and on October 27, 2013, he won a gold medal in the World Master's Games as part of the USA 4×400 relay team in Porto Allegre, Brazil.[9]

On December 24, 2016, he performed on Fox News Channel's "FOX and Friends." [10]

Discography

Albums
  • Playin' Possum (as The Homestead Act) (1974)
  • Elmo & Patsy (1974)
  • Will You Be Ready? (1980)
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (1983)

Singles
Year Single Peak positions Album
US Country
[11]		 US
[12]
1979 "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" — — N/A
1983 "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (re-recording) 92 — Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
1992 — 112
1997 64 87
1999 48 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Albums
  • Dr. Elmo's Twisted Christmas (1992)
  • Dr. Elmo's Twisted Tunes (1993)
  • Love, Death, and Taxes (2000)
  • Up Your Chimney (2000)
  • Dr. Elmo's MisceLOONYous Tunes (2000)
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (2002)
  • Christmas in the U.S.A. (2004)
  • Dr. Elmo Sings the Boos (2005)
  • Redneck Dracula (2006) (with the Halloween Ghouls)
  • Redneck Santa (2007)
  • Dr. Elmo Bluegrass Christmas (2010)
  • Old Kentucky Home (2013)

Filmography

Dr. Elmo Music Videos
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer Rap Version
  • Grandma's Killer Fruitcake
  • Uncle Johnny's Glass Eye
  • Christmas All Across the USA
  • Blame it On El Nino
  • The Witch and the Toad
  • Christmas in the USA
  • Prison Without Martha Stewart
  • All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
  • Haunted Hoedown
  • Pointy the Pyramid Pumpkin
  • Redneck Dracula
  • Doomsday Waltz
  • The Fly
  • The Scariest Thing I'll Ever Do
  • What Scares You?

References
  1. "AT LONG LAST SINGLES". Stubby's House of Christmas. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  2. Napoli, Lisa (30 October 2006). "Ringtone royalties" (Audio with transcript). Marketplace.
  3. "'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer' singer is sued". USA Today. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  4. Mason, Clark (24 December 2012). "Novelty reindeer song still has legs, 30 years later". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  5. Video on YouTube
  6. "Elmo Shropshire". IMDb.
  7. (PDF) https://sandiego.usatf.org/USATF_ASSOC_44/files/7b/7bf3780a-3933-4bf0-b596-106cbe1e9a6e.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. "USA Track & Field - Men's Age Division Results".
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-10-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Elmo Shropshire sings 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'". Fox News.
  11. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944–2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  12. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
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